


Wolves on the Ice

by AaliyahManira



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Alternate Universe - Wolves, BDSM, Blackmail, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Dominance, Falling In Love, Full Shift Werewolves, Hockey, M/M, Magic, NHL Lockout, NHL RPF, National Hockey League, Oral Sex, Original Character(s), Outing, Pack Bonding, Pack Building, Pack Dynamics, Submission, Time Skips, Washington Capitals, Werewolf Courting, Werewolf Mates, Werewolf Turning, Werewolves, Wolf Pack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-02-10 11:46:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 32,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12911283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AaliyahManira/pseuds/AaliyahManira
Summary: Nicklas Bäckström is a werewolf and he’s not the only one in the NHL.Or, the birth of the old married couple (Alex Ovechkin and Nicky Bäckström) and the beginning of the NHL's first wolf pack.Mostly timeline compliant, but it's my story and I can do what I want.I like comments and make sure I read every single one. Tell me what you think, good, bad, or otherwise.





	1. Not alone anymore.

Werewolves hate crowds.

As a general rule, they hate the way the smells of thousands of strangers bombard their noses when they're in a crowded room. They hate the way thousands of unfamiliar voices turn to an indecipherable roar in their ears and drown out everything important. They hate each individually, and there's no wolf alive that will tell you otherwise. When you put the two together, the result is something like a sensory deprivation chamber, bringing the elevated senses of a werewolf down below the senses of a human for a time. It's painful, it's annoying, and sometimes it's downright scary.

So naturally, when Nicklas Bäckström, a sixth generation werewolf, was offered the opportunity, he became a professional hockey player. On the ice in front of hundreds or thousands of people was the last place that most wolves would want to be, but something about the challenge made it worth it.

Before the NHL, back in Sweden, where being a werewolf was safe and relatively common, Nicklas cared for his wolf by running with his family. When he was small, they would gather outside every Saturday and run until Sunday morning. As he got older and his parents stopped wanting to shift every week, the tradition changed so that they gathered just before the full moon took them. Like always, they would leave their clothes folded up in a row by the house and run until the first rays of sunlight brought them back. When his parents stopped changing, he and his brother spent hundreds of nights weaving through the trees and wrestling in the grass, unlimited by the slowness and the caution that their parents brought to the night.

Until he came to America, Nicklas never spent a full moon alone.

But then when you move to a new country where you know no one and don't speak the language, everything changes.

Being drafted was something out of a dream. He wanted it, G-d, he wanted it more than anything he’d ever let himself want. He wanted it, but then it happened, and they called his name and he met Alexander Ovechkin on the stage and his dream stopped being a dream. It was the most exhilarating and overwhelming thing Nicklas has ever experienced and he nearly forgot how to breathe. He didn't let himself panic over enduring full moons in Washington until he was very far away from the cameras.

 

* * *

 

The last full moon Nicklas spent alone came in November a few years after he was drafted. The night was too warm, the air was too humid, and the sun came up too soon. He woke up the next morning and dragged himself to practice with the feeling of freedom in his veins and exhaustion written on his face.

And then, a week later, with Alex sitting across the table from him in a seedy bar, things got a little...complicated.

The others—almost half the team—had decided they were going out for dinner and drinks. They had asked at least a dozen times for Nicky and Alex to come, but the tension in Nicky's shoulders was enough to have Alex breaking out his Captain Voice and telling them he'd go next time. Instead of going with the group, they went to the smallest bar they could find and sat as far into the shadows as they could at table barely big enough for the two of them. Nicklas wasn't sure the chairs they were sitting in were actually capable of holding their weight for long, but he let himself relax. They were watching the Predators game on the big screen when a red-headed girl fell—literally fell—into his lap and shrieked with laughter. She was pretty, with freckles on the bridge of her nose and blue eyes ringed with gold glitter. She was also drunk enough that she’d have been unsteady even without the heels. Nicky caught her before she could tumble onto the ground and held her on his lap until she’d stopped giggling and apologizing long enough to stand up on her own. He was trying to be polite.

Half a second after he put the girl back on her feet, her boyfriend came out of nowhere and caught him in the jaw with a left hook that woke the hunter in his blood. Nicky had been in fights more times that he could count, been on the ice and been hit over and over again, but he’d always known somewhere in the back of his mind that those hits were coming. The unexpectedness of the punch was what made the difference.

It took every ounce of strength he had and then some to reach into his pocket, drop a hundred on the table, and slip out into the alley behind the bar before the popping of his bones was loud enough for anyone to hear. He was doubled over, trying to force himself to breathe, when Alex found him.

Nicky had seen it in his peripheral vision, the way the air rushed out of the man's lungs when Alex’s fist landed in his stomach. He saw the way Alex helpfully placed him in a chair and smiled at the girl as he swallowed down the last of his drink. He saw all of that on his way out, but he didn’t see Alex come through the door and into the alley. He couldn't hear the his footsteps over the rushing of the blood in his hears. He didn't know Alex was there at all until he felt the callouses of his fingers curl around his arm, just above his elbow.

The first thing that occurred to Nicky then wasn't that he should run, or even that he should have been able to hear Alex coming. The first thing that occurred to him was that Alex wasn't afraid. Nicky didn't think that Alexander Ovechkin had ever been afraid of anything in his life, not really, so some part of him thought it was only appropriate that he wasn't afraid then, standing in a dark alley with one hand curled around the arm of a predator. Like he could sense, on some level, that something was wrong, Alex kept his distance, leaving a few inches between them everywhere except for where he was holding on to his arm

“Nicky,” he said, more softly than Nicklas had ever heard him speak, “you okay?” Nicky shook his head, knowing that he couldn’t speak. He’d never changed in front of a human before, and if he could help it, Alex wouldn't be the first. He could have lived through it if it were anyone else, could have handled the look of revulsion on their faces as his body bent and broke into something inhuman. But he wouldn’t survive that look on this face, the one that he looked at most. He couldn’t lose his best friend to the secret he never asked for, so he bit down on his tongue and forced the wolf away.

The pain of keeping the change at bay was worse than anything Nicklas had ever felt before and he pitched forward, grabbing on to Alex for support. The wolf was retreating, but Nicky was too dazed to realize there was blood under his hands. He was too focused on trying to fight it off to realize that his claws were digging in to Alex’s biceps. Even Alex seemed completely unaware that he was being hurt.

Nicky thought he’d gotten lucky, until the next full moon brought a sick and shaky Alex to his doorstep five minutes before he headed out to run.

“Nicky, I _hurt,_ ” Nicklas was already half undressed when Alex let himself in, the itchy feeling of the change building under his skin as the clock ticked down. He was opining his mouth to tell Alex to go away or sleep off his hangover in the guest room when the smell of a wolf hit his nose. His stomach dropped and he swore, running out of his bedroom to meet Alex as he stumbled into the living room.

Nicky remembered the first time his childhood best friend changed, how painful it had been to watch. He remembered his own first change, the way his pajamas stuck to him when he woke up, grinding his teeth and fighting his body for every breath as his bones and organs shifted and grew. The change got easier with time, until it was almost instant and not quite painless. But the first time felt like being unceremoniously dumped into a vat of hydrochloric acid and Nicky couldn’t imagine how much more painful it would be for Alex, going through it as an adult.

“We need to go outside,” Nicky’s mind was racing through every second he’d spent with Alex since the last full moon, searching every minute and trying desperately to find his mistake. He barely managed to maneuver Alex out of his house and sit him down on the step without knocking both of them to the ground.

The air was cold on their fever-hot skin and the need to change was searing through Nicky’s veins as the moon settled into its place, high in the sky. One more time, Nicky pushed the wolf down and forced himself to breathe.

“What’s happening, Nicky?” The photoreceptors in Alex’s eyes shifted and he covered them with his hands, whimpering in pain. Nicky swore and ran into his house to turn off the porch light. When he came back, Alex had dropped his hands and was squinting at him.

“I promise to tell you everything, right now, I need to get you out of your clothes and into the woods,” The reshaping of Alex's spine had him arching backward and falling forward all at once, and Nicky winced at the sound of his bones cracking desperately wishing he could do something to help. Since he couldn’t stop the change or go back in time and undo everything that brought them there, Nicky did the only thing he knew would make the pain stop faster: he grabbed the hem of Alex’s sweatshirt and yanked it over his head.

“Wanted to get me naked, should have just said so. Hurt less,” Alex laughed and a hiss of pain slipped through his teeth. Nick pushed him on to his back and yanked his grey sweats down to his ankles. Nicky’s face was burning red, and it had nothing to do with the moon, but he didn't have time to indulge himself. He yanked his own sweats off and dragged Alex's big ass into the tree line.

“Look at me,” Alex hunched over against a tree and dug his nails into his thigh, fighting to breathe. Nicky pushed his change down for a few more seconds and made Alex look at him, one hand on either side of his face.

“Alright, looking,” he was trying to be funny, it was how he coped with pain, Nicky knew that, but it didn’t ease the knot of guilt in the pit of his stomach.

“I’m going to make it stop hurting, promise. But first, take a breath through your nose and say what you smell,” Alex looked at him like he was losing his mind, but he arched an eyebrow and Alex surrendered. He drew a long, slow breath and let his eyes fall shut.

“I smell honey and sweat and coffee and… Wait, that you?” The realization showed in his eyes when they opened and Nick nodded, relieved. Alex took another deep breath.

“Remember that smell,” Nicky helped Alex stand upright and drew a steadying breath of his own, “Oh, and I’m sorry,” Before Alex could ask why, Nick hit him in the jaw so hard his head snapped to the side. The sudden bloom of anger and pain forced Alex over the edge and the change ripped through his body in one violent wave. Nick swallowed, stepped back, and let his body shift. When he finished, they were eye to eye and Alex was watching Nicky suspiciously, like he wasn’t sure what to think of the large gold wolf in front of him. Nicky took a step forward and exposed his neck. At first, the black wolf hesitated, but when Nicky dropped his head, he took a tentative step forward and nuzzled against his fur. When he stepped back, Nicky nosed at his flank and gestured to the trees.

 _Run?_ He seemed to ask. Alex dipped his head in agreement and followed.

 

* * *

 

The sun was shining down on Nicky’s face when he woke up, and it took him a few breaths before he realized the weight pressing own on him wasn’t his blankets. He opened his eyes slowly and blinked against the burn of the sunlight. It only took him a second to recognize the familiar scene that was his back yard, but it took a second longer—and a failed attempt to sit up—to realize that Alex was laying on top of him, the hard length of his body pressed down against Nicky’s chest.

Nick swallowed the lump in his throat and forced himself to think of something else, anything that would keep his attention off of the warmth in his belly. He’d been alone in his changes for years, always chasing release in the shower or pushing the crushing desire in his belly down until it disappeared altogether. He wasn't used to waking up with someone pressed against him and he wasn’t sure he could ever get used to it being Alex. On cue, Alex stirred and pressed his hips down, moaning softly at the friction of Nicky’s skin. Alex’s eyes flickered open and he blinked lazily, taking in Nicky’s face and the morning sun rising across their bodies

“Why am I naked in your yard, Nicky?” Alex shifted and spoke slow, placing one hand on Nick’s chest and resting his chin on top of it. Nicky tucked his hands under his head and tried to ignore the way the feeling of Alex against him was making his heart race. He told himself it was just the change talking, the hormones.

“Because I fucked up," Nicky wished desperately that his English was better and exhaled irritably. If he spoke Russian or Alex spoke Swedish or they both spoke English well, he'd have been able to explain that he was a werewolf. He’d have been able to explain the effect of the moon and the effects of the change on the body and the way it would intensify his emotions. But they didn't and he couldn't, because he didn’t know the words for everything he wanted to say. He was trying desperately to figure out how he was going to explain any of it—where he’d even start—when Alex interrupted.

“Your English fine Backy. Try. And why you smell so good?” Ovi was breathing through his nose and there was a contented smile on his face. Nicky realized what he said on a delay and jerked upright, dislodging his sleepy Captain. Alex crumpled gracelessly into the grass and let loose a string of curses. He was still glaring when Nicky propped himself up on his elbows and focused on Alex's face.

“How did you hear that?” Alex was looking at him like he’d lost his mind again, but he seemed content to wait for Nicky to work through whatever was behind the confusion in his eyes. Nicky watched Alex closely and tried it again, thinking the words clearly in his head.

 _The part about my English._  Alex arched an eyebrow at him and threw his hands up in irritation. Nicky arched an eyebrow.

“How I hear it? You hit your head Nicky? You say, I hear, always,” A full-blown smile broke out over Nicky’s face before he had a chance to stop it. Nicky hadn’t run with a pack in so long that he’d forgotten what it felt like to have their voices brushing against the inside of his head, whisper close and warm like sunshine. For the first time since he'd arrived in the United States, he felt well and truly grounded. The sound of Ovi insulting him echoed inside of his head and made him realize he wasn't actually explaining himself.

 _Watch my lips, I didn’t say anything out loud,_ Alex’s eyes darted between Nicky’s mouth and his eyes.

“I think we should have coffee. Then we can talk,” Alex nodded and got to his feet, completely ignoring the way hit cock bounced against his stomach, but not successfully ignoring the matching hardness resting against Nicky's hip.

“Coffee for you. Tea for me,” Alex said, heading for the bathroom. “Borrow your shower?” Nick nodded and watched him go, thankful as always, that Alexander Ovechkin hated wearing clothes.

 

* * *

 

“Ovi, can I talk to you?” Alex looked up from where he was shoving his gear into his bag and nodded, motioning for Nicky to sit. Nicky didn't say anything.

“You thinking too hard,” Nicky didn’t react obviously, didn’t make a face or sigh, but Alex saw the way his eyes changed, the way he shifted his weight to give himself time before he had to speak.

 _If you can’t say it, think it,_ Nicky’s eyes flickered over to Alex’s face and a ghost of a smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. Nicky sat forward and leaned on his knees.

 _We play tomorrow. You’ve never felt what it’s like to be bombarded by the noise of the fans or the smell… The way the smell of food mixes with perfume and alcohol is... It can be a lot to process._ Without English and Swedish and Russian getting in the way, Alex knew what Nicky was trying to say before he finished saying it. He flashed a playful grin.

 _Are you worried about me, Nicky?_ Nicklas fought the blush trying to climb up his neck and pointedly avoided giving Alex an answer. He knew him too well, he would know he was lying if he said no.

“I just want you to be prepared, that’s all. It can be a lot, even for me, and this is all very new to you,” Alex nodded, an acknowledgement of his own concerns that didn't require him to say them out loud. Nicky exhaled.

“I’ll be okay, Nicky. Have you next to me whole time,” Alex got up, finished putting the last of his stuff away, and grabbed his bag off of the ground.

“Come on, I’m hungry,” Nicky didn’t smile and he didn’t allow himself to acknowledge the sad feeling in his belly at the loss of Alex’s warmth against his side. He just… didn’t.

 

* * *

 

 

They fell into something of a habit after that first night. They ran together three times a week and Nicky made sure they changed the night before every game, just to be safe. They'd meet at his house, leave their clothes on his couch, and run until they were ready to sleep off the final hours of the change in the yard. Alex took to being a werewolf like it was the most natural thing in the world, and Nicky quickly started to question how he'd even run alone.

“So, Ducks tomorrow. Think we’ll do well?” Alex was stretched out on his bed in his hotel room with his hands tucked under his head when Nicky finished showering and got dressed. He didn't let himself find surprising that Alex was there, and didn't let himself acknowledge the Alex's eyes ran unashamedly down the length of his chest when he came out of the bathroom. He did, however, let himself enjoy the disappointment that flashed across Alex's face when he pulled a t-shirt over his head, just for a second.

Nicky settled against the pillow pile on his bed, comfortable under the weight of Alex's watchful eyes. He took time to think before he answered, the words like a gentle caress across Alex's consciousness.

 _I think they’re aggressive. They’re good, but we’re better. As long as we don’t let them pull us into too many penalties, we’ll be fine._ Nicky’s eyes had just fallen shut when he heard Alex get up. A few seconds later, his bed shifted and Alex was back, the black wolf as familiar as the man it represented. Nicky watched the wolf snuggle in beside him with an amused expression on his face and inhaled sharply as the warmth of Alex’s head settled in his lap.

 _Personal space is not your thing,_ Nicky smiled affectionately down at the wolf and reached out to run his fingers through the thick fur on Alex’s neck and shoulder. They fell asleep like that, Nicky stretched out on the bed with Alex using him as a human pillow, and neither of them stirred before their alarms sounded for morning skate.


	2. And this is my Nicky.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Backy gets hurt, Ovi gets even, they get house guests, and Ovi discovers that Nicky likes to be in charge.

The game went exactly the way Nicky expected it would, or mostly anyway.

Alex took the roar of the arena and the overwhelming onslaught of unfamiliar smells better than anyone could have expected. He hesitated for a second when he skated out for warm ups and then again when they hit the ice for the opening faceoff, but the uncertainty was gone just as quickly as it came each time, replaced by the playful confidence that endeared him to Washington from the start. Each time Nicklas waited for the breakdown and each time he was hit with a wave of pride when it didn't come.

Alex was a machine, like he had been every other game that he and Nicky had ever played together and every game before that. The Ducks tried at every turn to pull him into fights with dirty hits and shoves that sent him into the boards hard enough to send fans jumping back, but he wasn't biting. The Capitals were following their Captain's lead and no one was taking the bait. Even the most aggressive players managed to make it through the second period without picking up any unnecessary penalties.

And then the third period happened.

They rolled into it with a hard-won two point lead and the swagger that came from knowing their opponent was trying desperately to throw them off their game without success. They weren't cocky or lazy, just confident, comfortable knowing they were playing their game the way they wanted to play.

And then, two minutes into the third, Perry got pissed off enough that he sent Nicky into the boards at full speed. His head hit the glass and his hip hit the dasher and that was it. Bäckström went to his knees on the ice and then his stomach and then he didn’t move at all.

Nicky couldn’t see Alex tearing toward him across the ice, but he could feel him. Alex’s anger was the only thing keeping the pain in his hip and the throbbing of his head from being too much to handle and, on some level, he was grateful for it. He felt a split second of pity for Corey, just before Alex got to him, but it was gone as soon as it came, chased away by another stab of pain and the genuine fear that was boiling in his veins.

 _You have to stop._ He reached for Alex hoping he was loud enough and that he could hear him over the roar of blood in his ears. The linesman tried to intervene when Perry got up, but there was no way Alex was going to let go until he believed he’d been sufficiently punished and the linesman seemed to know it too, which meant Nicky had to get up. Alex’s gloves were on the ice by Nicky’s head and he could hear the low growl building in his Captain’s stomach over the pounding in his ears. It took every bit of concentration, but Nicky got up off of the ice, untangled himself from the helping hands of the trainer and his teammates, and let himself glide across to his Captain.

“Alex,” He was favoring one foot with most of his weight on one skate and he couldn’t seem to raise his voice, but Alex knew he was there the second he skated up. He shoved Perry one final time and turned to look at Nicky, almost doubled over and out of breath. There was blood running down the side of Nicky’s face, he could feel it and smell it, and he felt Alex’s anger flare.

“Nicky, you okay?” Alex caught him with both hands, one on his elbow and the other on the hip that didn’t hurt. Alex's hold was the only thing keeping him steady. Nicky shook his head and dropped his voice low enough that only Alex would have heard it, even if the arena had been silent.

“You need to breathe, Sasha. You can’t do it here,” Alex made a face and ground his teeth hard. In retrospect, looking at Perry—who looked like he’d been walloped by the tail of a killer whale—Nicky realized that the hit wasn’t personal. Perry had hit him knowing that it would set Ovi off. He’d hit him hard knowing that Ovi wouldn’t play as well if he was worried.

 _Focus on me, on the sound of my voice. Tune out everything else. It’s just you and me._ Alex closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose, head falling forward to rest against Nicky’s. With each breath, the energy buzzing under Ovi’s skin faded and a few breaths later, Ovi was as calm as he was capable of being. Nicky squeezed his arm proudly and leaned in to the sturdiness of his Captain until Alex was the only thing holding him up. Taking Nicky's weight was exactly the distraction necessary for the rest of Alex's anger to dissipate.

“Help me off?” Alex opened his eyes and exhaled. Nicky remembered hearing a reporter say he had murder eyes once, but he was pretty sure nothing anyone had ever seen in his eyes compared to the fire burning in Alex’s as he looped an arm around his waist and lead him off the ice.

 

Alex didn’t hear from Nicky again until they landed in Washington. He tried to call and text, but his messages were never read and every call went straight to voicemail. When he focused on the place Nicky occupied in his mind, all he felt was the throb of a headache that wouldn't end.

Naturally, since Nicky wasn’t answering, Alex drove to his house and let himself in the front door. Alex was barely ten feet inside when he saw him, standing in the door to his bedroom with sleep in his eyes and his weight balanced almost entirely on one leg. He looked whole and he wasn’t leaning on anything for support. Alex dropped his bag and rushed forward.

“Nicky,” Alex said his name like it was a breath he’d been holding and before Nicky’s heart could remember to beat he had Alex's fingers buried in his hair.

Alex didn't do anything halfway and kissing—to Nicky’s delight—was no exception. He kissed like he played, with passion and skill that took the breath right out of Nicky’s lungs. When Alex finally pulled back he was breathing hard, surrounded by familiar smells and so full of relief that his heart was racing. ‘Nicky’s okay’ was all his brain seemed capable of processing, even as strong hands settled on his hips and Nicky’s forehead came to rest against his.

“Why do I have to be hurt for you to kiss me?” The question was quiet but Alex’s answering laugh was not and the small smile on Nicky’s face worked its way into a full grin. They stayed there, chest to chest, for a long time without making a sound.

“You don’t have be hurt to get kiss. Prefer you weren’t. Kiss you twice then,” Nicky’s heart stuttered in his chest and Alex smiled down at him, a hint of rosy color burning high on his cheek bones and creeping down his neck.

“My head hurts and I want to go to bed,” the sudden sadness in Alex’s eyes vanished when Nicky brought a hand up to touch the side of his face and smiled, “stay?” Alex nodded enthusiastically and followed Nicky into the bedroom. As soon as he was close enough to the bed, Nicky collapsed face-first into the mattress. There was an adoring smile plastered to Alex’s face as he laid down and threw the covers over the both of them. Alex was almost asleep when Nicky reached out to tangle their fingers together under the sheet.

They’d only been asleep a few hours when a sudden onslaught of voices had Nicky snapping upright in bed. The sudden motion jarred Alex awake and he watched his Swede with suspicious eyes. It wasn’t until his annoyance and the adrenaline of being scared awake faded that he could hear their voices, pressed against the inside of his skull like only Nicky’s ever had been.

“What is that?” Alex screwed his eyes shut and winced outwardly, overwhelmed by the sounds. Nicky’s green eyes were wide in his face but he didn’t say anything as he got out of bed and threw a sweatshirt on. Alex had stripped down to just his sweats before he fell asleep and they were all he wore as he followed Nicky out into the cool night air. Rude people did not get to wake him up in the middle of the night _and_ make him put on clothes.

The sight outside of the house turned Nicky into a Nicky-shaped statue and Alex had to resist the urge to poke him to make sure he wasn’t actually turning to stone. There were wolves in Nicky’s yard, four of them by Alex’s count, moving in slow half-circles around each other—and them—like they were waiting for something. The largest of the wolves noticed them first and stopped moving to sit back on its haunches and look at them. It was familiar somehow, dark eyes intense and focused solely on them. The others followed its lead, each sitting when they noticed Nicky and Alex standing on the deck.

“What is happening?” Nicky stopped being a statue long enough to drag a hand through his hair and say something in Swedish that Alex didn’t understand

 _Can all of you change back?_ Nicky’s voice was soft, but Alex knew that it wasn’t actually a question. He watched as each of the wolves lowered their heads and let the change roll through their bodies. The large brown wolf stood up first, naked and seeming oblivious to the cold air on his bare skin. Alex’s eyes nearly popped out of his head at the sight of Braden Holtby.

The pair of wolves to Braden’s right came next, shedding their sandy and brownish-red coats and standing upright. Alex recognized both of them as players, Bobrovsky and Giroux, from Philadelphia. Then to his left, Tyler Seguin from the Dallas Stars. Nicky’s looked composed, but Alex could see the mix of excitement and fear boiling under his skin. Not for the first time since he’d been dragged out of bed, he wished he knew what was going on.

“Come inside,” Nicky gestured to the door and waited quietly for each of the men to cross his yard and trickle into his living room. Alex expected him to follow, but he let the door close behind Bobrovsky and stayed out in the cold next to Alex instead.

“Use your words,” Nicky huffed softly and started to pace, still favoring one leg, but more graceful that Alex would have been with the same injury. The first thing the press had picked up on when Nicky came to Washington was the way he controlled himself, but Alex knew Nicky better than anyone. Nicky was as nervous then as he had been just before they’d called his name at the draft, but he hid the slight tremor of his hands by shoving them into the pockets of his sweats. Alex reached out to touch his arm but had to swallow a noise of surprise when Nick turned and gathered him in a tight hug.

“They’re here because of me. Because of us.” Alex didn’t know what to say, so he didn't say anything. He just held tight to his Center and listened to him ramble under his breath in Swedish. “I never knew there were others in the league.” It sounded like a confession and a sigh of relief all at once.

 _I love you, but you need to focus or you’re going to have naked men lounging all over your furniture._ Alex’s voice was full of laughter, even inside of Nicky’s head, but the thought of it seemed to be enough to shake Nicky into motion

 “I probably have clothes they can wear downstairs. I usually keep extras, just in case. Keep an eye on them while I look?” Alex nodded and followed Nicky into the house.

It wasn’t until Nicky is in the basement, well out of sight, that his voice brushed against Alex’s consciousness.

 _Did you just say you love me?_ Alex felt a smile pulling at Nicky’s mouth and tried to swallow the one threatening to break out over his own face,

 _I tell you for three years I need you, that you look good, that I love you. You never listen._ Nick’s laugh tickles his ears, echoing up from the basement and drawing the attention of the others. Four pair of eyes locked on Ovechkin’s face.

 _That’s just how you are, Sasha._ Alex shook his head and went to the fridge. One at a time, he threw a cold water bottle to each of the very naked players standing in Nicky’s living room. Not one of them had said a word since they’d come inside and they were pointedly avoiding looking at one another, locker room style.

 _How I am with you, Nicky. Only with you._ There was a brilliant burn of red on Nicky’s face when he came upstairs to distribute sweatpants to each of the men, and he avoided looking directly at Alex. They dressed quickly and kicked back on Nicky’s furniture, stretching out like they owned the place. Bobrovsky ignored the others and sat down on the floor, tucking his legs up against his chest to rest his head on his knees.

“How did you get here?” Alex only asked because Nicky didn’t look capable of talking. They all shrugged and Braden leaned forward, folding his hands in his lap. The dull roar of voices in Alex’s head had faded into background noise, like Nicky’s did when he wasn’t speaking directly to him. It made it easier to focus.

“Finished the game and was feeling good, so I went for a run. I was running the same path I always do when I felt this…” Braden rubbed at his chest, just under his heart and struggled to find the word he wanted to use. Alex thought it was funnier when it happened to someone who spoke English as a first language.

“Pull.” Nicky supplied helpfully, still looking unbalanced. Braden nodded.

“It was the weirdest thing I’d ever felt. I tried to ignore it, but it got worse the farther I ran, so I turned around and followed it instead. It lead me here, and I couldn’t figure out why it smelled like you guys until you came out onto the deck… together.” The others told similar stories, the pull between their ribs, running until they weren’t sure where they were, and then finding one another in the yard and waiting.

“Why didn’t I know? I’ve played with all of you, I should have been able to smell it on you.” Bobrovsky laughed and stretched his long legs out in front of him, playing with his water bottle absentmindedly.

“We stink on ice. Like sweat and hard work. You don’t know us, like we don’t know you. We not looking for it, so we not notice it.” It made sense in theory. Even there, standing in the room with them, Alex could only identify which scent was Nicky. It made sense, in theory, but Nicky couldn’t help but wonder how he’d never noticed it on Braden.

“Well, okay then.” Alex leaned against the wall and watched Nicky closely. He wasn’t shaking anymore, but he still didn’t look particularly steady and Alex didn’t know if it was the pain or the situation.

 _I suppose formal introductions are in order._ Alex saw them all exhale in response to the feeling of Nicky’s voice in their minds. _I’m Nicklas Bäckström, Center, Washington Capitals. And this is my home._ The others nodded and turned their attention on Alex.

 _Alexander Ovechkin, but you can call me Alex or Ovi. Forward and Captain of the Washington Capitals. And this is my Nicky._ He felt and saw them all laugh and smiled to himself at the embarrassed blush that bloomed on Nicky’s face. The tension in the room broke and everyone seemed to exhale.

“Your Nicky, our Alpha. I can remember that.” Claude said it like a joke, but it punched the air out of Nicky’s lungs. He vibrated with energy until the last of the introductions had been made.

“The guest rooms are that way. You all are welcome to stay for the night and we can figure out what all of this means in the morning. None of you play tomorrow, right?” They all shook their heads and Alex pulled Nicky toward his bedroom as soon as he could do so without drawing too much attention.

The kiss came before Alex heard the soft ‘click’ of the door closing. Nicky turned, caught him by the wrists, pinned him to the wall, and kissed him until he forgot all of the words that he’d been getting ready to say. The smell of Nicky was everywhere and his body was hot against Alex’s bare chest even through the layers of his clothes. Alex arched his back and pressed himself closer, a small victory smile spreading across his face when he heard Nicky’s breath catch in his throat.

“I can’t remember the last time I felt like this…” Nicky’s presence in Alex’s mind was burning hot and his pupils had blown wide. Alex remembered the way Nicky looked when they woke up after a change with hunger searing through their veins and darkening his green eyes. It had been nearly impossible for him to untangle himself from Nicky and walk away each time and now that he didn’t have to, it felt like every nerve in his body was on fire.

 _Let me have my hands and I’ll help._ Nicky exhaled softly and his long fingers uncurled from Alex’s wrists. Alex could feel Nicky’s heart racing under his hands as he ran them over the smooth skin of his chest and peeled him out of his sweatshirt and t-shirt. Nicky’s skin was blazing hot and his breathing was shaky. With his shirt gone, Nick closed the distance between them and caught Alex in another searing kiss, hands settling with bruising strength on his Captain’s bare hips.

“Alex…” Nicky breathed, a low growl rumbling in his chest when Alex sank his teeth in to his bottom lip. He slipped his fingers under the waist band of Nicky’s sweats and flattened his hands against the overheated expanse of soft skin between Nick's hips

“Yes, Nicky?” The dripping sweetness of Alex’s voice was too much and Nick dropped his head back against his bedroom door with a soft thud. Alex slid down his body and caught the waist band of his sweats between his teeth. Nicky looked down at him as the warmth of his breath brushed over his cock and let out a soft groan, running a hand through his curls. Alex took pride in how wrecked Nicky looked and smiled to himself, knowing it was only going to get worse.

“More.” Nicky managed as he fought the urge to knot his fingers in the mess of Alex’s hair. Alex smiled to himself and leaned in to nuzzle at the throbbing hardness resting against Nicky’s thigh.

Normally Alex would have teased, would have made him work for what he wanted. But looking up at Nicky and seeing the devastating need written there was all it took for Alex to decide to be nice. Instead of teasing, Alex took a deep breath and swallowed Nicky whole.

The string of Swedish curse words that Nicky let out drew a groan from Alex. The vibrations ran through Nicky’s body like he’d grabbed a live wire and he groaned. Alec forced his throat to relax around Nicky's length and hollowed out his cheeks as Nicky’s long fingers came up to tangle in his hair. He backed off slowly to suck on the head of Nicky's thick cock.

“Sasha…”Nick tugged gently on the strands of Alex’s hair as he dug the tip of his tongue into the slit and savored the salty drops of pre-cum beading there. Alex groaned at the feeling of Nicky’s hands and Nicky’s hips stuttered erratically as the vibrations rolled over him again.

 _Let go, Nicky. Just let go._ Nick’s mouth fell open and he let out a soft moan as Alex worked him over, skilled hands and wicked tongue taking him apart piece by piece.

 _I’m…_ Nicky started. The words died on his lips as the familiar feeling of his orgasm curled its way up his spine. He tried to pull Alex up and off, but Alex fought his hands. He slid down and buried his nose in the curls at the base of Nicky’s cock one last time and then pulled off slow so he could catch every drop Nicky had to give on his tongue. He swallowed and licked the last traces of Nicky’s cum from his lips, knowing the Center's green eyes were locked on his face. Alex stood slowly, holding Nicky in place against the door so he wouldn't sink to the ground.


	3. Stay with me.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys relive a drunken conversation as the lockout begins. Alex asks Nicky to come to Russia.

“Nicky, I have question.” They were in the middle of on-ice warm ups and surrounded by their teammates when Alex blew past him, voice raised so he could be heard over the sound of skates and laughter.

Nicky winced at the suddenness of his voice, too close and too loud against his sensitive ears. Alex skated down around where Braden was crouched between the pipes and floated back toward Nicklas to circle lazily around him as he stretched. Nicky loved to watch Alex skate, he was incredibly graceful for a freight train. Nicky had just managed to drag his eyes away and focus on his stretches when Alex demanded his attention again.

“Do you want an invitation?” Nicky growled, looking up from the ice to glare at Alex for a second and then lowering himself back into his stretch. Alex huffed and stopped circling to sit on the ice in front of Nick and stretch his own muscles. His voice was still raised even sitting at arm's reach, like he thought the music would tear his words away.

“Why being a wolf make everything feel so good?” Nicky’s head snapped up so fast Alex almost jumped out of his skin.

 _Lower your voice, Ovechkin._ The words had weight when they popped into Alex’s head. It wasn’t like it usually was, where Nicky’s voice grazed the inside of his mind, gentle and almost teasing. This time Nicky’s words fell like stones, heavy and cold and hard. Alex felt his face change and immediately saw regret in Nicky’s eyes. He may have asked it like a joke, but it had been a serious question. Suddenly, he didn't want to know anymore.

 _I’m sorry…_ Alex got up and skated away before Nicky could finish apologizing. He didn’t skate over to Backy again, didn’t wait for him when they left the ice, didn’t come over to talk to him before the game, nothing. They didn’t communicate at all until Alex got into a shouting match with a Shark in the faceoff circle. Play hadn’t stopped down the ice, but Alex forgot to care and turned his full attention on the man in front of him. They scored and the Shark’s immediately called for a coach’s challenge.

Alex yelled nearly every second that he was on the ice, so it took a shout from Braden to get Nicky’s attention. Over the sounds of the fans, he heard an announcer talking about a fight that was getting ready to break out. He said a silent prayer, hoping he wouldn't have to spend all of his energy keeping his kids in line. If Ovechkin hit the sin bin, it wouldn’t be long until someone else followed and Nicky wanted no part of that.

Alex was half a second from landing a right hook when Nicky slipped an arm around his waist and pulled him back. Nicky wasn’t counting on Alex whirling around and swinging at him.

Alexander Ovechkin was fast. Everyone knew it, talked about it, and experienced it when he sailed down the ice. No one ever noticed that Nicklas Bäckström, all quiet control and precision, was faster. He leaned back to dodge the punch and then used Alex’s own momentum to take him to the ice and hold him there, face down. One hand was locked tight around Ovi's wrist and the other was supporting his weight so he could dig his knee into Ovi's back.

“We cannot afford to lose you to a penalty right now, Alexander,” Nicky’s breath was hot on Alex’s neck and his lips were almost close enough to brush his skin. The words coming from Nick’s mouth were rough, but the words brushing against the inside of his head were softer, almost a whisper.

 _You can be angry at me all you want. Take it out on me, not the team. Don’t punish them for something I did._ The last of the fight went out of Alex and he sagged against the ice under Nicky’s weight. Backy had expected the linesman to come separate them, but they—and everyone else in the arena—seemed too confused by the fact that the players fighting were on the same team to actually do anything about stopping it. Nick shifted his weight back and off of Alex and then offered a hand to pull him to his feet. The video review was done and Nicky counted himself lucky that everyone’s attention would shift away from what had happened for a while.

“Every reporter in the place is going to want to know what the hell just got into you two.” Braden was leaned back against his goal comfortably with his arms draped over the crossbar and the movement of his mouth completely obscured by his mask. They heard every word anyway.

“Trust me, I know.” Was all Nicky said before he skated back into position and forced himself to focus on the game.

 _Hey Nicky?_ He allowed himself a glance in Alex’s direction and cocked his head to tell Alex he was listening. _Not mad at you. Used to you being upset sometimes, just not used to you being upset with me._ Nicky exhaled and a microscopic smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. In front of the cameras, Alex knew that was the best he was going to get. When the puck dropped, Nicky’s face had returned to its usual mask of cool detachment.

They lost to San Jose, again. No one had been foolish enough to believe they were going to win, not really. Even with all of the penalties handed down in the game, there wasn’t much they could do to overcome the Sharks’ defense. They only lost by one, but they lost all the same.

The locker room was quieter than it would have been if they’d been able to pull off a win, but not as quiet as it usually was after a loss. When Nicky made it to his stall, already pulling off his gloves, someone turned the music on and the locker room erupted into song. Even Nicky found himself singing along.

“What does masochist even mean?” Nicky had gotten down to retrieve his phone from where it’d fallen to the floor and slid under his stall, but when he heard the question—barely more than a harsh whisper—he straightened up and smacked his head on someone’s knee. The song changed and the others went on singing. Nicky looked up at the speakers, rubbing the back of his head with his fingers.

“A masochist is a person who takes sexual pleasure form pain.” Braden said from across the room, raising his voice to be heard and not looking up as he worked on untying his skates. Nicky noticed the darkness in Braden’s eyes when he glanced at him, but he didn’t catch the blush rising high on Sasha’s cheeks before he’d peeled out of the last of his gear and busied himself putting it away.

Conversation bubbled around the room after that, shifting rapidly from subject to subject as the music quieted and everyone worked through their routines. Nearly everyone had heard what Braden said, and decided to talk about it. Some of the guys stuck to sex in general, some wondered what kind of things ‘people like that’ did, and some were debating what ‘that kind of thing’ would be like. Nicky rolled his eyes to himself and tried to tune them out, knowing that if he listened too closely or for too long, he’d have to correct their mistakes.

 _Listening to this makes me pity everyone they’ve ever slept with._ Braden had managed to get the rest of his bulky gear off and was sitting on the ground, stretching the stiffness out of his muscles. Nicky kicked his pants off and sat down in front of his stall to stretch his own sore muscles. He nodded in agreement, knowing Braden would see it and understand.

 _Makes me wonder how they made it this far without figuring out that there’s more to sex than sex._ Braden chuckled, the sound coming from deep in his belly, and pressed his chest into the ground. Nicky had just managed to tune most of the noise in the room out and relax into his stretch when Braden spoke again.

 _You’re a Dominant, aren’t you?_ Nicky stilled, momentarily stunned by the forwardness of the question and the way Braden was completely relaxed asking it. No one had ever been brazen enough—comfortable enough—to bring it up, especially not directly. Instead of answering with his words, Nicky gave a sharp nod of his head and got up to head for the showers.

 _I didn’t mean to upset you._ He couldn’t see Braden anymore, but he knew him well that he could almost picture the look on his face. There was a thick fog of sweat and frustration in the locker room, worse in the showers than anywhere else, but Nicky could smell the second Sasha and Braden came in to shower.

 _You didn’t upset me, you just surprised me._ Nick turned to let the stream of hot water run over his chest. The bruises on his hip had darkened to a deep purple and started to fade around the edges, but his whole hip still ached when he moved. He knew that they'd heal completely if he changed, but he hadn’t had time to run in since everything had happened, so he’d made an effort to keep the bruises out of sight and the soreness out of mind. It was the first time, he realized with a start, that he and Alex hadn’t changed before a game.

 _I pride myself on being observant. I can spot a like mind a mile away._ Nicky dug his fingers into the muscles of his shoulders and exhaled as the tension eased.

 _I feel like you guys are intentionally leaving me out of this conversation._ Nicky turned his back to the spray of the water and massaged shampoo into his hair. Alex was humming out loud, but his mind was quiet around the sound of his voice.

 _Not on purpose, Sasha._ Nicky opened up to speak to both of them at once and worked on rinsing his curls clean.

 _Are we getting drinks or running tonight? I think I could use both._ Alex laughed and Braden chuckle. Nicky shook his head and turned the water off.

“Drinks sound good. We’ll go from there.” He needed to run like he needed to breathe. The itch under his skin got worse with every minute he denied it.

 

It took years for Alex to bring up the conversation they had that night in the bar. Years of stolen kisses and off days spent in bed, tangled up in the sheets and each other. Years of playing alongside the man he loved and going home to run with the pack he’d come to love with equal strength. Years of dancing around it without ever actually confronting it head on. Years.

They were all stretched out in the grass in Nicky’s back yard when Alex mentioned it again. Nicky hadn’t known whether to expect them that night, with the lockout announcement and the stress of making plans at the last minute. But some of them had. The others were sound asleep in the grass a few feet away, worn down from travelling and running and the stress of everything happening in the league. Alex was vibrating with energy.

“Hey Nicky…” Ovi shifted the way he was laying so that he could throw his legs over Nicky’s and kick back. Braden shifted too, rolling on to his side to look at both of them. Nick stayed where he was, stretched out on his back with his hands under his head. It was an unseasonably warm night, so laying in the grass with his pack mates was all Nicky needed to be comfortable. He'd needed them as much as they needed him, even if he wouldn't admit it. With them at his side, he could breathe again.

“I was wondering when you two were going to stop whispering to each other and tell me what you were thinking.” Alex exhaled slowly and Nicky closed his eyes, waiting. He felt Braden make a face, urging Alex forward, but said nothing. They'd been talking back and forth to each other since they woke up, leaving Nicky alone with his thoughts, so he was willing to wait a little longer to hear what they had to say.

“How much do you remember about what happened when we lost to the Sharks and you tackled me to stop me from that fight?” Nicky took a deep breath.

“We went out for drinks after the game. We’d planned on going running, but we were too drunk so we crashed in my bed and went the next night instead.” Nicky could feel the uncertainty humming in Alex's veins and could tell Braden thought he was being difficult. Braden knew he remembered, knew he just wanted to make Alex say it out loud.

“You don’t remember sitting in booth with us? Talked about masochists and the boys being simple? We took like… lot of shots.” Nicky almost couldn’t help the small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, but did his best to keep his face blank so Alex would keep talking.

 _You’re cruel, Nicklas Bäckström._ Braden rolled onto his back and mirrored Nicky’s position. He was pressed tight to his Alpha’s side with his hands tucked under his head. They laid in silence until Nicky sighed and sat up, propping his body up on his hands and giving in.

“You mean the  drunken conversation that ended with you asking me why I’m always so control and then forgetting how to breath in when I said it was because me losing control means my subbie’s get hurt? That conversation? The one that made Braden choke on his drink?” Alex’s eyes went wide in his face and he nodded. Braden raised an eyebrow and watched them.

“Was it true?” Nicky tried to pretend he wasn’t enjoying making Sasha squirm and nodded his head once. Braden chose that moment to sit up and fold his legs in front of him.

“Every word.” Nicky ran a hand through his sweat soaked curls. Braden took pity and leaned forward to rest his weight on his knees so he could talk to Alex without waking the sleeping wolves around them.

“One lapse in concentration is all it takes, an unsecured knot or too much pressure on the trachea. One mistake can cause permanent damage. No one wants that. It ruins the fun, breaks the toys.” The silence stretched out between them for a long time, Braden watching Nicky, Nicky watching Sasha, and Sasha watching the ground at his feet. Finally, after silence that he wasn’t sure would ever end, Alex seemed to decide on what he wanted to say. His voice brushed the inside of both of their heads, a faint whisper.

 _Why you never do it with me?_ Braden was pretty sure he wasn't required to participate in the conversation anymore, but was too curious to tune them out. Nicky’s façade of calm cracked for a split second as lust darkened his eyes. He schooled his features so quickly Braden was sure he’d imagined it. Alex was trembling softly, more from nerves than the soft breeze brushing his fever-hot skin.

 _You never asked me to._ And then, just to Braden. _The look on your face just now was incredible._ Braden glared.

 _I'd just assumed..._ Nicky reached out to touch the side of Ovi's face and slid his fingers into the sweat-dampened strands of his dark hair.

_If I was his Dominant, you'd know, trust me._

“And if I do?” Nicky had no words.

 

They went their separate ways when the sun came up. Nicky went up to shower, Braden went home, the others retreated to the soundproof sanctuary of the basement, and Alex… Well, Alex put on a borrowed pair of pants and paced around Nicky’s house.

Nicky listened to every step as he showered. He was alternating between thoughts of their conversation and of going back to Sweden to play. He was imagining playing with someone else where Alex was supposed to be when Alex said his name. He'd been so distracted by the scenario in his head that he'd completely lost track of where Alex was. He shut the water off, grabbed his towel, and stepped out to face him.

“Come with me. Play Dynamo with me.” The man standing in front of Nicky made his heart hurt and the implications of the words made it stumble in his chest. It wasn’t Alexander the Gr8 asking him to come to Moscow. It wasn’t his Captain asking him to play. It was Sasha, _his Sasha_ , quieter than he’d ever heard him, asking him to come home with him, for real. Nicky could barely process what that meant. He was too afraid of being wrong to even try.

“Sasha… Why?” Nick wrapped his towel around his hips and pushed his curls back off of his forehead so he could see Alex’s face clearly.

“Need my center.” Nick made a noise in the back of his throat and busied himself drying his hair. He’d been foolish to let himself think, even for a second, that there was any other reason for Alex to want him to come.

“You’ve played with other centers a million times, Ovi.” Alex stiffened and came forward to grab him by the arm. Alex jerked him around and squared up, bringing them chest to chest.

“Nicky. Come with me.” His eyes were burning and his voice was soft. “I want you to come to Moscow with me. Play with me. I want…” Alex struggled for the words he wanted and Nick watched, quiet and patient. Even there, with his hips pressed back against the sink and his Captain standing over him, Nicky knew he was the one in control. He exhaled when he felt Alex's voice behind his eyes.

 _I want to wake up in the morning with you next to me, and then I want to go play great hockey with you, and then I want to show you around, and then I want to go home with you and fall asleep next to you so we can do it all over again the next day. I don’t want you to play with anyone else and decide you don’t need me anymore. I don't want you to go back to Sweden without me and realize—like me—that Swedish boys are too pretty to resist._  Nicky’s breath whistled out of his lungs and he had to resist the urge to wrap Alex up in the blankets of their bed and keep him there forever. Instead, he reached out and forced Alex to look at him, one hand on his hip and one on his chin.

"I'll think about it, okay?" It wasn't the answer that Alex wanted, but he nodded his head anyway and allowed himself to be pulled in until he was tucked safely against his Center's chest.


	4. Home is where the Captain is.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicky has to decide whether to go to Russia with Alex, but first, he has to endure a full moon with only half of his pack.  
> AKA, the lockout sucks.

“Nicky. You decide to come play with me yet?” Nick had answered the phone without looking at it, expecting that it had to be some kind of emergency, because no one was stupid enough to call him in the middle of the night otherwise.

When he heard Alex’s voice, too loud and too full of energy, he let out a string of Swedish curse words that would have made Kristoffer blush. He rolled over to look at the clock on his nightstand and swore again, rubbing at his face with the back of his hand. The red numbers burned his eyes even after he slammed them shut. 2:31 felt like it had been permanently seared into his brain.

“You know what time it is?” There was a sound that made him think Alex was looking for a clock and then a grunt and a string of curse words that made him think Alex had tripped over something. Nicky—even half asleep—knew a lot of Russian curse words. He could almost picture the look on Alex’s face, the way he would have turned to glare at the offending object.

“I’m don’t know. Sun is up, I am up, so I call Nicky.” Nick sighed and rubbed at his eyes, digging his fingers into his eyelids, and falling back into his pillows with a soft 'oof'.

“I’m going back to sleep Alex.” Nicky expected him to argue or push, but he didn’t. For once in his entire life, Alexander Ovechkin fell completely silent. Nicky fell asleep with his phone on his pillow and the sound of Alex’s breathing in his ear.

It was the best he’d slept in days.

 

It had been so long since Nicky ran a full moon without Alex that he nearly didn’t make it out of his house before the change started. Last time that had happened, he’d broken a window trying to get out. Because, you know, wolves don't have thumbs, don't know how to use doors, and don’t like being trapped. The window had cost him thousands of dollars to fix and the guys had chirped him for days over it.

 _We were wondering when you’d make an appearance._ Braden and Claude were standing at the edge of his yard, watching him closely as he stripped out of his clothes and fell onto all fours, bones popping and cracking violently as he settled into the change He swore in Swedish at the way his muscles protested. He hadn’t realized how tense he was without Alex around.

 _Would it have been too much to ask for you to come get me? I almost got stuck in my house… again._ Braden’s low laugh rumbled through his head and hid the small chuckle Claude couldn’t swallow. Both wolves were looking at him with laughter in their eyes.

 _Didn’t want to interrupt your inner monologue._ Claude said as he shifted his weight. If Nicky hadn’t known better, he’d have sworn the red-brown wolf was smiling at him. _Should I go? Should I stay? What will the team think if I go to Russia—_ Nicky cut Claude's taunting short when he lunched toward him. Nicky, larger and broader than him as a wolf, rolled them over and wrestled him to the ground. He held Claude down, perching on top of him like a king.

 _I do not sound like that._ Nicky growled, nipping at Claude’s shoulder as he let him up. Braden remained suspiciously silent, earning a smoldering glare from his Alpha. _Where are the others?_ Nicky asked when he finally realized that the two wolves were alone. It felt strange to stand in the moonlight without his pack around him, even stranger when he remembered that Alex wasn’t there.

 _Sergei is already back in Russia and Tyler is either already gone for or getting ready to leave for Switzerland, I’m not sure which._ Nicky’s playful mood disappeared as quickly as it had come. The lockout had barely begun and it was already making him miserable. First Alex, and then Sergei and Tyler, and it was only a matter of time before he had to go too. He couldn't stay in the United States without hockey. Whether he went to Sweden or to Russia with Alex, this would be his last full moon with his pack for a while.

 _I hope this is over soon._ It wasn’t the same running without the others by his side, but it was enough to chase away the antsy feeling that not playing left in his bones. They ran until the sun was peeking its way over the horizon and then settled into a pile in his yard and waited for the change to subside.

 

Lars Nicklas Bäckström made split second decisions all day, every day. On the ice, off the ice, it didn’t matter, he’d never struggled to make a choice.

He knew when to be patient, when to hold the puck and wait so it would find Alex's tape at exactly the right time. He knew when to receive and release so the puck found the back of the net before the Goalie knew what was happening. He knew what to do, knew what he needed to do. Always.

And yet, three days—and four calls from Alex—later, Nicky still hadn’t decided whether or not he was going to Russia. It was ten o'clock in the morning when Alex called him again. Nicky had just gotten out of the shower and was rubbing the water out of his curls when his phone rang.

"Nicky! When your flight leave?" Alex sounded like he was out of breath, like he'd been running. Nicky wondered what he'd done for the full moon, since it was the first time he'd ever been through it alone. Just as quickly, he realized he didn’t want to know.

"I told you I haven't decided yet, Ovi." Nicky rolled his eyes, hung up his towel, and dropped casually back on his bed. He could feel Alex in his head, not saying anything, but still there, taking up space and grounding him. He could hear every beat of his heart, feel every rush of oxygen that hit his bloodstream. He closed his eyes and let himself listen as he waited for Alex to speak.

“Come on Nicky. Know you coming, just need you tell me when.” Alex’s English had not fared well since he’d returned to Russia. Nicky was used to lazy English, having spent every off season for over half a decade listening to it, but it still made him smile to hear the uncooperative words coming out of Alex’s mouth.

His accent was nearly as strong as it had been when they met. Alex said something he couldn't make out and Tatianna Ovechkin's voice answered. Nicky smiled. Tatianna was terrifying and wonderful in equal measure and Nicky liked her.

“I don’t even know I’m coming. You psychic Sasha?” Alex laughed, a full bodied sound that came through Nicky’s phone and made his heart lurch.

“Mama said tell Nicky 'hi'." Nicky smiled again.

"Tell her I said hi too, Sasha." Alex turned his head away from the phone and hollered at his mother. A second later, his voice was back in Nicky's ear.

"Call when you know flight time, I pick you up.” Alex hung up before Nicky could say anything.

 

If Nicky was being honest with himself, he knew he was going to go to Russia the minute Alex asked, because he'd never been capable of telling Alexander Ovechkin no in his entire life. If he hadn't been sure then, he was sure the first night he had to sleep without Alex in the bed beside him. It was too quiet without his Captain there, taking up too much space and making too much noise.

He called Alex back as soon as he got off the phone with his agent and told him he was coming. Alex had never sounded so smug

He was barely clear of the plane when he saw Sasha waiting for him, the only familiar thing in the whole place. He expected ‘I told you so’ to be the first thing out of his mouth, but it wasn't. Instead of bragging or teasing or doing anything remotely Ovi-like, Alex bumped him with his shoulder and smiled.

“Make decision faster next time,” and then, closer, _I missed you, Nicky._ If they’d been back home in Washington, Alex would have hugged him the minute he saw him. If they’d been back in Washington, Alex would have kissed him once they were safely tucked away in his car. If they'd been back in Washington, doing either of those things would have earned them little more than a sideways glance or two.

But they weren’t in Washington. They were in Moscow and Alex couldn’t do anything to make anyone think they were anything more than team mates. Instead, Alex walked through the airport at Nicky's side, as close as he could get without touching him. He talked the whole way, telling Nicky about everything he’d done since he’d been home and every thought that popped into his head. Nicky listened, happy to be close to him again and relieved to be able to draw a full breath for the first time in days. This, Nicky thought, was how they were supposed to be. Side by side, always.

 _We run tonight and skate tomorrow?_ Alex’s voice was whisper close even with the sounds of the airport and the travelers around them. Nicky exhaled.

 _A run sounds heavenly._ Nicky felt like there was sandpaper under his skin. He’d never liked to fly for too long, even when the flight would deposit him back in Sweden. The stale air of the cabin made him feel like he was suffocating and travelers smelled worse than any athletes he’d ever known.

 _Want to go running before we go home or after?_ Nicky’s lungs filled with cold, clean air as they pushed out of the airport and he felt the tension melt from his shoulders. Alex laughed and pushed him with his shoulder, steering him toward his car.

“Now? Please.” Alex nodded, brushing the back of Nicky’s hand with the tips of his fingers.


	5. Teach me, oh wise one.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ovi wants to learn, Holtby's a good teacher, and Tyler Seguin is too vanilla to put up with your shit. Also, Nicky's really nervous about carrying around a ring.

_Holts?_ Braden’s chin jerked up and his eyes locked on his Captain’s form. Alex and Nicky were both coming down the ice toward him, looking to the world like they were completely locked in to their game, ready to send the puck to the back of his net. Nicky showed no sign of being able to hear Alex talking and even Braden struggled to see the slight hint of distraction in his eyes.

Nicky released the puck and Braden followed it across the ice to Alex. It found his tape like they were alone on the ice and stayed there for half a second before Alex was sending it toward Braden’s shoulder. Braden grabbed the puck out of the air and arched an eyebrow at his Captain.

 _Yes, Ovi?_ The Russian glared and Braden released the puck, reaching for his water bottle.

 _You’re like Nicky, right? Kinky, I mean._ Braden inhaled so sharply that he sucked water into his lungs and choked. His teammates turned to look at him, laughter on their faces, but Nicky was looking at Alex, like he knew something was going on and he wasn’t sure he wanted to be part of it.

 _Yes, I am. Why are we having this conversation in the middle of practice?_ Alex skated to the faceoff circle and took his place. Even as he waited for the faceoff, Nicky was watching them. To Braden’s relief, they lost and the puck was going down the ice toward Grubauer instead of him. He took the chance to clear the last of the rawness from his throat and cough up the rest of the water in his lungs.

 _Will you teach me?_ Alex glanced back at him as he skated to the bench and sat down. Nicky’s keen eyes were on him too, but he did his best to pretend he had no idea why. If he’d been drinking that time, he’d have choked again.

 _Will I…? Alex, what the fuck? Why don’t you ask Nicky to teach you. He would._ A brilliant kiss of scarlet broke out high on Alex’s cheekbones and he shifted to hide his face from Nicky on the bench.

 _I want to learn before I ask him, so he’s impressed. Don’t want him to think I’m clueless._ Braden couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face as he fell back into a crouch in his crease.

_Do some research, make a list of questions, and we can go from there. Okay?_

“What are you doing?” Alex looked up and smiled at Sergei as he came in. The goal tender was eating dry cereal out of a mug. He sat down on the floor and stretched out, crossing his ankles and watching Alex with keen eyes.

“Reading,” Alex set the notebook he was holding down on his legs and stretched the stiffness out of his neck and shoulders. Bobrovsky popped another handful of cereal into his mouth and made a face.

“You know how to read?” Alex threw a pillow at him. They were laughing so loud that Alex didn’t hear Tyler walk up behind him. He grabbed the notebook off of Alex’s lap and started reading.

“It’s important to know where your limits are. Everyone is different and can take different things, but the last thing anyone wants is to slam face first into a hard limit and have someone get hurt. It’s the job of the submissive to communicate known limits and the job of the Dominant to predict the unknown ones and stop the scene before it’s too late.” Tyler slowed down the longer he read and then stopped altogether when he realized what he was reading. Sergei sat up and raised his eyebrows so high they disappeared into the fringe of his hair.

“Alex, what the hell is this?” Alex wanted to snatch the worn blue notebook out of Tyler’s hands and tell him to mind his own business, but he knew that would only make it worse.

“Look at this. This entire notebook is full of this stuff, all handwritten.” Tyler turned to flash the pages at Braden, who was standing against the wall between the living room and the kitchen with his arms folded over his chest. There was a barely concealed smile on his face.

“I know,” he said with a shrug, “I wrote it.” Nicky picked that exact moment to appear, curls still wet from the showed. Tyler’s eyes turned to saucers in his face and he looked back and forth between Alex and Braden like a cartoon character.

“Why does everyone look so…” Nicky gestured vaguely to the room in front of him when he couldn’t decide on a single word that would encompass the strangeness of what he was seeing in front of him. Alex’s cheeks flared red and Braden arched a dark eyebrow at Tyler.

“Go ahead. Read some more. Nicky wasn’t here for the first part.” There was a challenge in Braden’s voice and a mischievous shine to his eyes. Tyler looked down at the notebook in his hands and then at Nicky, who was the exact picture of composure.

“Ovi is reading about BDSM on your couch and Braden is the author.” Tyler looked like he was waiting for someone to tell him it was all a prank and Bobrovsky seemed to have stopped caring. Nicky looked at Alex first and then at Braden, then he held his hand out and waited for the notebook to be deposited there. He flipped back to the first page and read to himself for a minute.

“Looks very thorough. You were on page thirty two. Carry on.” Nicky dropped the notebook in Alex’s lap and headed for the kitchen, his stomach growling as he went.

 _Should I be concerned that you’re trying to steal my man, Holtby?_ Nicky opened the refrigerator and grabbed himself a drink before he turned to face the goaltender, still lounging casually against the wall and watching Seguin try to wrap his brain around what was happening.

 _Do you trust me?_ Nicky arched an eyebrow and then nodded once, a small motion that only Braden noticed.

 _Of course._ Braden pushed off of the wall and dropped down onto the couch opposite Alex, eyes falling closed.

 _You have absolutely nothing to be worried about._ Nicky smiled to himself and watched Alex pick the notebook back up. He was blushing when he looked over at Nicky, but he settled back into the couch and kept reading.

 

 _Holts, got a sec?_ Braden looked over at him and nodded, taking a long drink of his coffee. Nicky jerked his head to the side and started walking. Braden excused himself from the conversation he was having and followed Nicky, floating just behind him as he walked.

“Where the hell are we going?” Braden asked after they’d put a hundred feet between themselves and their team mates. Nicky shoved his hands into his pockets, turned down a few hallways, and then stopped.

“Just far enough that Alex won’t be able to hear us if he tries,” Nicky was nervous. Braden took another drink of his coffee and leaned against the wall, waiting. Nicky looked around the corner to make sure no one was coming and reached in to his jacket to pull out a small box.

“Man, breathe, you look like you’re going to pass out.” Braden put the pieces together in his own mind, the distance, the nerves, and the little velvet box, but he waited patiently for Nicky to stop staring at it and speak.

“I want your opinion,” he said finally, popping the box open, “do you think he’ll like it?” Braden smiled and clapped Nicky on the shoulder.

“I think he’s going to love it.” Nicky exhaled more air than Braden had thought him capable of holding and ran his fingers through his curls.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous.” Braden laughed and swallowed the last of his coffee.

“It’s going to be the easiest question that man has ever had to answer, Bäckström. You’ll be fine.”


	6. Private facts made public.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone gets too close with a camera and Nicky doesn't find out until it's too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own all rights to the female character introduced in this chapter.

Nicky forgot how to breathe the first time he saw how Alex looked on his knees. He was in the basement with headphones on, presumably to drown out any noise that might have distracted him. Nicky had been looking for him for fifteen minutes. He'd walked through his entire house calling Alex's name so he could ask if Alex wanted to play video games with him. He’d been five seconds from giving up and calling for Alex internally when he decided to check the basement, just in case.

The light going down the stairs was on, but the others weren’t and the space was hazy. Nicky made it halfway down the stairs before he saw Alex on the floor in front of the couch. The blue notebook he'd been carrying was on the floor beside him with a bottle of Gatorade and a protein bar and Nicky could hear music coming through his headphones. It wasn’t Russian techno, like he would have expected. Whatever Alex was listening to was soft and slow.

And that’s when Nicky realized he was in a perfect submissive’s pose. His eyes were closed and he was relaxed more completely than Nicky would have thought he could be. Nicky forgot how to breathe and just stood there for a long while, watching and committing the sight to memory.

When he did leave, it was only to prevent Alex from smelling him and opening his eyes. Nicky wanted him to stay that way, peaceful and comfortable, as long as he could.

 _Braden?_ Nicky said softly as he closed the door at the top of the stairs. His head fell forward to rest against the cool surface and he forced himself to inhale.

 _Yes, Nicky?_ Braden’s voice came back a second later, calm and soft.

_Thank you._

 

Nicky was alone when it happened. He’d been playing video games when his phone chimed to tell him that he had an email. He got up when he finished his game, mostly to get a snack, and stopped by his computer while he was eating, just to clear the notification.

When he opened the email he dropped his glass. The roaring in his ears was so loud that he didn’t even hear it shatter against his floor. He didn’t look away from the screen for a second as he fished his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed.

“Nicky! Hur mår du?” The woman on the line sounded happy, her voice high and sweet. When he didn’t say anything, her happiness changed to concern. “Nicky? Vad är fel?” Nicky brought the phone up to his ear without tearing his eyes away from his computer screen.

“Evie,” He breathed, voice low and hoarse, “Jag behöver dig.” What she said next was rushed and not in Swedish or English. Nicky didn't understand it, but he wasn't meant to.

“Jag kommer,” she said, and then the line went dead. Nicky dropped his phone from his ear and let his arm hang loose by his side. The screen of his laptop went black after he'd been staring at it for a few minutes, and somewhere in the back of his mind Nicky registered the sound of people coming through his front door a few minutes after that, but he didn’t turn, or look up, or acknowledge them at all.

Andre said his name twice before he called for Alex. They smelled like sweat and chlorine and wolf and it took only seconds before he was breathing in the scent of them. They were all there, his entire pack, but he didn’t greet them.

Braden and Alex were laughing at something Sergei said when they came into the room, and Claude was still in the kitchen with Tyler, rummaging through the fridge like he always did. Ovi stopped laughing when he saw Nicky standing there, like a statue in the middle of the room.

Alex said his name once, a half smile still tinting his voice. He said it the second time as he came closer, the smile gone. His warm fingers curled around Nicky’s arm as he said it the third time, just above his elbow, like he was going to force Nicky to turn and look at him.

That’s when she spoke.

“Я бы не.” Alex froze and turned, startled. None of them had heard her come in or realized how close she was to them, none of them except Nicky, who felt the way the air changed when her portal closed. Claude and Tyler chose that moment to enter the room, sandwiches in hand. They both stopped short.

“Who’s the girl?” Tyler sounded like he was trying to ask quietly, but with food in his mouth, that was impossible. The woman glanced at him and rolled her eyes.

“Evie Johnson. Pleasure. Now please, don’t touch him, you’ll make it worse.” Evie dropped her bag on the floor and stepped forward, bringing one small hand up to touch Alex’s shoulder. He looked at his hand on Nicky’s arm for a second and then backed away slowly, watching Nicky and the woman with suspicious eyes. Her eyes were large and purple, Alex realized as they darted from face to face, taking in the room. Her irises were exactly the same color as the tattoo-like markings that tangles down the side of her face and over her shoulder to the back of her hand. Alex wondered absently if they stopped there, but didn’t ask.

“You’re wolves. All of you. Right?” One by one, they nodded. She turned to Alex. “You trust them?” He looked at Nicky and nodded.

“Family,” was all he said. She nodded, like she understood, and then took a step back from Nicky and peeled her shirt over her head. Before the boys could avert their eyes or ask what she was doing, she kicked her jeans away and changed. No one was stupid enough to comment on the view, but Alex got a chance to see that the markings ran the entire length of her body.

“Am I the only one who has no clue what is happening here?” Tyler had swallowed his food and was staring at the pure-white wolf with wide eyes, like it was the first time he’d ever seen a wolf before. Alex would have chirped him for it, under different circumstances, but he was too focused on Nicky—who still hadn’t moved—and the rich smell of vanilla and moonlight that was seeping into the air to say anything at all. The wolf took a step forward and nosed at Nicky’s hand until he dropped his phone.

“Gonna prop the door,” Sergei said as he turned away. It was a good idea, just in case they all ended up as wolves. Alex thought that was a real possibility and he was pretty sure that Nicky—when he was Nicky again—would be mad at them for breaking a window.

“She’s an Alpha,” Braden said, watching the woman with the same keen eyes he used to track the puck. He took a breath in through his nose and exhaled slow, eyes widening just slightly. “She’s _his_ Alpha.” The woman turned her head and dipped it once in acknowledgement. Her eyes, Alex noted, were still purple. He’d attributed the color to contact lenses at first, but they’d have disintegrated in her eyes when she changed, so he guessed he'd have to get used to it.

“Nicky doesn’t have an Alpha. Nicky is the Alpha.” The wolf nosed at Nicky’s hand again, teasing it open and leaning forward so his fingers had to run over her head and into the thick fur at her neck. Nicky’s fingers twitched and then curled into her fur. One muscle at a time and then all at once, whatever spell had been holding him still snapped. He looked down at the wolf beside him and then at his pack mates around him.

“Nicky…” Alex started to take a step forward but stopped when Nicky shied away and the white wolf growled. Sergei came back into the room and Nicky’s eyes snapped up to his face. Immediately, Sergei bowed his head and took a knee. One by one, the others followed. After a long moment of silence, the low rumble of a growl in the air faded and Nicky seemed to exhale. He looked down at the white wolf and cocked his head.

“Run?” Her purple eyes seemed to sparkle as she dipped her head again, agreeing. Nicky looked at the others. “Run?” They too, nodded. They were out of their clothes and running through the woods less than a minute later. No one wanted to ask what happened. They knew that if they did, he'd tell them and they knew that anything capable of effecting Nicky that way was bad. They didn't want to know until they had to.


	7. The Fixer.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes to protect the people you love, you have to break your heart and theirs.

_Are you going to tell me what happened?_ Nicky and Evie woken out of their post-run sleep before the others and were sitting in the grass at the edge of the woods, looking out over the sleeping wolves with contentment on their faces. Neither of them had the presence of mind to collect their clothes. Nicky exhaled hard and tore his fingers through his curls.

 _Someone sent me photographs._ He said, leaning forward to lean on his knees. _I didn’t go through them all, but they’re of me. Running, changing… There was even one of Alex, coming out to lay with me in the grass and kissing me when I woke up._ If Evie was surprised or angry, she didn’t show it. She exhaled slowly and scooted over to drape an arm around Nicky’s shoulders. Even a foot taller than her, he curled down and into her, like she would protect him.

 _Where and when?_ She’d been silent for a long while, carding her fingers gently through Nicky’s tangled curls. He pulled away and sat forward, leaning on his knees again.

 _Last week. We fought. It was over something stupid, but I didn’t want to stay in the house anymore, so I went for a run. He wanted to come and I told him no._ Nicky looked across the yard at Alex, sleeping peacefully beside Braden with his fingers tangled in Andre’s.

 _They were taken here?_ Nicky nodded.

 _If I’d just let it go… Or just let him come with me…_ Evie reached over and touched his shoulder, fingers digging in until he looked at her.

“If you’d let him run with you, you’d both be on film changing. At least for now, he’s protected.” Nicky wanted to believe she was right, but there was a weight in his heart he couldn’t shake. He turned sideways to face her.

“Being a wolf won’t be what gets him in trouble, Evie. If that picture gets out… The one of him kissing me… He’ll never be able to go back to Russia.” She brought her small hand up and caught the tear threatening to run down his cheek on the pad of her thumb. She shifted up onto her knees and forced him to look at her with one hand on either side of his face.

“I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen, käraste. I need you to trust me.” Nicky nodded and closed his eyes, pressing into her hands as her forehead came forward to rest against his. After a long minute, she sat back.

“When you get the second email, the one that tells you what they want, don’t open it. Send it straight to me, okay?” Nicky nodded.

“Until I can figure all of this out, I need you to do me a favor.” He turned to look at Alex, sleeping soundly in the grass, more peaceful than he ever was awake.

“You want me to stay away from them.” She nodded sadly and let him tangle his fingers in hers. They stayed that way long after the sun came up, watching the other wolves sleep in a silence so heavy it pushed the air from Nicky’s lungs. Without Nicky to wake them, they slept late into the morning.

 

“So, this is what happens when there’s a girl in your house? We should have done this months ago.” Tyler was first to the food, as usual. He had a piece of bacon in his mouth before Evie even had time to turn around and slap his hand.

“Can I shower now? Should I wait until after?” Sergei hovered halfway between the bathroom and the kitchen, looking at the food like he was starving and at the dirt clinging to his skin like it had personally offended him. Nicky looked at Evie, who smiled and waved her hand.

“What do you need to shower for?” She said, a sly smile spreading across her face as she flipped the last waffle out of the waffle maker and on to a plate. Sergei looked down at himself and made a noise of surprise. The others did the same, each realizing at a different time and looking up at her with bewildered expressions on their faces.

“Holy shit,” Braden whispered, touching his beard with both hands. She waved her hand again, making a show of the purple sparks that flickered around her fingers.

“Magic,” she shrugged, carrying the last of the food to Nicky’s dining room table. “Clothes are on the back of the couch. Alphabetical order. Get dressed and eat before it gets cold.” The boys didn’t need to be told twice. They grabbed their sweats off the back of Nicky’s couch and pulled them on as they fell into their chairs.

“You eating Nicky?” Alex tapped the place where Nicky usually sat, a hopeful look on his face. The light in his eyes died when Nicky shook his head.

“Already did. This is all for you. Don’t waste a bit of it.” Evie and Nicky were both already dressed. She’d put on a pair of leggings and an oversized sweater that covered her hands and Nicky had gone with jeans and his favorite old t-shirt. It felt strange, to him, to be dressed so quickly after a full moon and be looking in on his pack from the outside.

 _It isn’t permanent._ Evie was watching the boys eat and taking a sip of her coffee when her voice brushed against the inside of his head. There was no indication in her face or her body language that she’d spoken at all.

 _I know._ Nicky looked at each of his boys. First his eyes found Ovi, laughing too loud at something Sergei said and trying to pretend he wasn’t worrying about Nicky. Then Sergei and Tyler, both shoving food into their mouths so quickly he was sure they couldn’t taste it. Claude was quieter but still eating as much as he could as fast as he could. Andre and Braden were talking to one another, but Nicky didn’t miss the way Braden’s eyes kept finding his own.

And then, of course, his eyes found Ovechkin again. His heart lurched and twisted and broke as the image from the computer screen flashed behind his eyes.

 _I won’t let anyone take home away from him._ Nicky turned his back on his pack and flattened his hands against his counter top as anger and fear and concern cycled across his face. Evie scooted close and leaned against his arm. He brought his eyes up to her face.

“I know.”

 

“What’re you doing?” Ovi was reaching for the handle of Nicky’s passenger side door, but froze and looked up.

“Always come home with you after game. Tradition.” Nicky’s heart beat unsteadily against his ribs.

“Go home, Alex.” His face fell and Nicky wanted nothing more than to backtrack, say never mind and blame it on being tired. But he didn’t. Alex dropped his hand from the door handle and turned.

“I do something wrong?” Nicky shook his head and threw his bag into the trunk, so he wouldn’t have to see the look on Alex’s face. It had been years since Alex had gone to his own home after a game. Years where more and more of his clothes ended up in Nicky’s closet. Years where the collection of video games in Nicky’s living room grew and grew because every game Alex owned ended up there. Years since he’d been unable to look at his Captain’s face.

“You’re not coming with me, Sasha. Go home.” Nicky got in the car and started the engine. He hadn’t been listening to music on the way to the game, so the sound of silence echoed around him as he backed up and started to pull away.

Even if he’d had the music blaring, he would have heard Alex whisper.

 _Nicky,_ you _are home._ The tears that were stinging at the back of his eyes welled up and spilled down his cheeks. He let out a broken sob when he looked in the mirror and saw Sasha standing there, bag on the ground at his feet, looking like the whole world was coming down around him.

 _It isn’t permanent._ The memory of Evie’s voice echoed through his head and Nicky wished she were with him, sitting with her feet up on the dash, her too-big purple eyes locked on his face while he talked. Nicky looked in the mirror again. Sasha hadn’t moved. As he turned the corner and left the parking structure, he hoped with everything he had that she was right.

If it was permanent, he wasn’t sure he’d make it.


	8. Weird uncle Holtby knows what's up.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicky is being an idiot and Braden is having none of it.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Braden came flying through the front door without knocking and if Nicky hadn’t been able to hear him coming from two hundred yards away, he might have jumped. Angry Braden Holtby was not something easily missed and not something you wanted to be blindsided by. Nicky looked up from his plate and arched an eyebrow.

“I’m fine.” He wasn’t fine. He was miserable. He hadn’t slept soundly in two weeks, hadn’t played well in any of their five games, and was pretty sure he hadn’t actually consumed any of the food he’d made himself in the same amount of time. But he couldn’t exactly tell Braden that.

“Bullshit.” The goaltender stalked forward and slammed his hands down on the counter. “You left Ovechkin standing in the middle of the parking garage two weeks ago, alone, crying, and miserable, without any explanation, and you haven’t said anything non-hockey related to him since. You haven’t spoken to any of the rest of us in a week or more, and now I hear you’re hopping a flight to New York tomorrow, so you won’t be here for the full moon? Nicklas Bäckström, you might be a son of a bitch but you are not a liar. So, I ask again, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Nick put his fork down and forced himself to inhale.

The part of Nicky that was Braden’s Alpha stirred, not taking kindly to the tone of his voice or the way he was speaking. He was considering telling the goal tender to watch his mouth, knowing that it would be enough to avoid the subject a little longer, but the human part of him knew that Braden was right. He was opening his mouth to make an excuse, or two, or five, but when he looked up, all he saw in Braden’s dark eyes was concern.

The lies died on his lips.

_Can you keep a secret?_ Braden nodded. Nicky thought about what he was doing for a second, thought about reaching out to Evie and asking her if he was making a mistake, but he didn’t. Instead, he motioned for Braden to stay where he was and retreated to his bedroom. When he came back, he placed the folder full of pictures on the counter in front of Braden and sat back down to stare at his food some more.

“What is this?” Braden asked, touching the folder with the tips of his fingers. Nicky took a drink and leaned forward onto the counter, forcing himself to look directly at Braden for more than a few seconds. It felt strange, after pointedly avoiding eye contact with the man for so long.

“This is what I was looking at when you found me. Why Evie came.” Nick watched Braden’s skepticism shift as he opened the folder and started flipping through the photographs. With each shot, the line between his eyebrows deepened and the low growl building in his belly grew louder. Nicky had grown used to carrying the weight of the photos alone, and it felt good to share it. It felt even better to know that Braden was as angry as he was.

“Who did this?” Braden looked up and Nicky was immediately grateful that they were—literally and metaphorically—on the same team, because the anger burning in his dark eyes would have been terrifying to face, if it had been directed at him. He shrugged.

“Evie hasn’t given me a name yet. There’s so much in there…” Nicky paused and shifted. “The picture of me changing would be bad if it got out. I’d be hunted. I’d never play in America again, but, I’d still be able to go back to Sweden. I’d find a way to be okay, even if it meant I spent the rest of my life hiding.” Nicky dragged a hand through his hair and fought to control the anger and frustration he was feeling.

“But…?” Braden prompted, when he didn’t say anything else for a long while.

“But, the other thing that those pictures show. Of Alex and I _…_ ” Nicky exhaled. _He’d likely never be able to go home. Putin’s golden boy kissing a man? His Center, no less? Not exactly something that is allowed to happen in Russia._ Braden’s eyes darkened as the realization set it. Nicky hung his head and forced himself to breathe.

_You backed away from us, from Ovi, in case the photographer comes back. You’re think you’re protecting us._ Nicky looked down at his hands and nodded, feeling small surrounded by all of the space he’d grown accustomed to Alex taking up. _Is that why you’re going to New York for the full moon? Because you’re afraid?_ Nicky looked up.

“I’m not going to New York.” Braden leaned forward against the counter and leaned on his elbows. Nicky exhaled.

_Evie thinks she knows who took the pictures. She thinks that if the photographer thinks I’ve gone to New York, they’ll try and come here again, to go through the house and find proof that there are others. He’s looking for a pay day and the more players he can get, the more he’ll walk away with._ Braden tried to blow a strand of hair out of his face and then pushed a hand through his hair when it wouldn’t budge. He looked conflicted.

“You’re using your house as bait…” he started, voice low, “While your entire pack is going to be here, completely unaware of everything going on?” Nicky shivered at the implication, thoughts of his friends plastered on every front page in the world dancing behind his eyes. He shook his head.

“I’m using my house as bait to protect the people I love most in the world while the entire Guardian force and two very talented Warlocks are here to conceal my pack from anyone who gets too close. I would never risk you all. Not even for this.” Braden exhaled and dropped his head on the counter. After a moment of silence, where he rolled his head back and forth across the cool granite, he looked up and shook his head.

“No.” Nicky started to question, but Braden kept talking before he could. “They deserve to know. Pack Law says the pack gets to execute anyone who tries to out them and you shouldn’t deprive them of that. They wouldn’t want you to deprive them of that. Show them the pictures, tell them what happened, and let them—let us—protect you. The Guardians are formidable, but this is our land. I’m all for having them here, just in case, but we should get to stand with them.” Nicky felt a bubble of pride swell in his chest. After a long moment of thinking about it, imagining what it would feel like to have his pack behind him, he nodded.

_I think we’re long overdue for some bonding time. How about you crash here tomorrow so you’re already here for the full moon? I’ll make dinner._ Braden smiled and exhaled, relieved to finally feel his Alpha’s presence open up inside his head after so much stillness. His smile grew as each of their pack mates answered, agreeing to make the trip.

Alex was last and he didn’t sound like himself, there was no trace of joy or excitement in his words or his presence. He agreed to come, but immediately disconnected from them after that. Braden pushed off the counter and headed toward the door. He stopped with his hand on the knob and turned back to look at Nicky.

“If you don’t talk to Alex between now and tomorrow night, I will personally kill you. You’ve got the ring. Ask the question. Fix the damage you’ve done before you lose him. Neither of you can take that.” The door shut behind him with a soft ‘click’ and left Nicky alone with his thoughts.


	9. From my family to yours.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ovi gets the truth, Nicky gets the guy, and the others? Well, they get one more night before they have to know what's coming.

Alex wasn’t expecting guests. He was stretched out on his couch in his briefs with his controller in his lap and a glass of vodka on the table by his head when someone knocked on his door. His first instinct was to ignore it and wait for the person to go away, his second instinct was to answer it in his underwear and intentionally make whoever it was uncomfortable, and his third instinct, well it didn't matter because his mother had raised him better than that and he was going to answer the door with a smile on his face.

If he’d have sniffed at the air, he’d have known that the person on the other side of the door wouldn’t care if he was naked as the day he was born. But he didn’t.

Instead, he pulled a pair of sweats on over his underwear and threw the door open.

“Hi, Sasha.” Alex hadn’t been paying much attention but that changed the second he heard Nicky's voice. His eyes snapped to Nicky’s face and his heart stuttered against the inside of his ribs.

“Nicky,” he breathed, exhaling slowly as he took in the look on Nicky’s face and tried to imagine what he was doing on his doorstep in the middle of the night. Nicky was wearing sweats and one of Alex’s oldest, biggest sweatshirts. He had a beanie hat on and there were curls sticking out from underneath it, even though it was pulled down far enough to cover his ears. He looked cozy and it made Alex want to stick cold hands on the skin of his belly.

“Can I come in?” Alex nodded and stepped out of the way so Nicky could slide past him. The door closed but the cold air of the night lingered on Nicky and his clothes, tickling the bare skin of Alex’s chest and sending goose bumps down his arms. For a long moment, neither of them seemed to know what to say and then, Nicky started talking. The words tumbled out of Nicky's mouth like a dam had broken and he only had a minute to spill every thought in his head before the damage had been repaired.

In one long rush, Nicky told Alex everything. He told him about the pictures coming to his email while he was playing video games on his couch and about how his first phone call had been to Evie because she was the only person he knew that was capable of fixing it. He told him about Evie, about how he’d known her in Sweden and not known she wasn’t Swedish until the first full moon after he arrived in the United States and she showed up to drag him into the woods before anyone got hurt.

He told Alex about the Guardians and what made them different from other packs. He told him about Evie helping him find a house with enough land that he could run and soundproof walls so that he could tune out the world when he was at home. He told him about his conversation with her that first night in the yard and about trying to distance himself to protect them because he knew what it would mean if any of the pictures got out.

And before he could chicken out, he told Alex about pack law and the consequences of trying to expose a werewolf to the humans. He told him that he’d been planning on keeping it a secret, so no one would have to know and no one would have to carry the weight of the man’s death on their conscience, and he told him that he couldn't keep it a secret from him, because they hadn't had any secrets since that first full moon when Alex showed up on his doorstep.

And then, with tears in his eyes, he told Alex how badly it had hurt to leave him standing in the parking structure and watching him break down in the rearview mirror. He told him how much he’d hated falling asleep every night without him there to take up too much space in his bed and how he'd gone days without leaving his house because everywhere he went reminded him of Alex. He was running his thumb over the top of the little velvet box in his pocket when he realized he wasn’t done.

I _was going to let them take care of it. But Braden showed up in my kitchen today and reminded me that we’ve never let anyone else handle our fights. Someone is threatening my family, our family, and it should be us that shuts it down. If I have to face this, I want to do it with you by my side._ Nicky felt his hands shake as he knelt down in front of Alex and pulled the velvet box from his pocket.

“I want to do it with you. I want to do everything with you,” he took a deep breath and forced himself to look up. He hadn’t even gotten the question out before Alex was on his knees, one hand on either side of his face, kissing him like they’d been apart for years instead of weeks. When the kiss ended, Nicky exhaled a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding and let his forehead fall forward to rest again Alex’s. Nicky had finally stopped shivering from the cold when Alex broke their silence.

“I made you something.” Alex got up and Nicky sat back, crossing his legs and waiting on the floor for Alex to return from his bedroom. When he did come back, he was holding something in his hands. Nicky couldn’t tell what it was until he sat down and when he started to reach for it, Alex pulled his hands back.

“I want my ring.” He held out his hand and Nicky laughed to himself, relieved to see a hint of playfulness back in Alex's steel blue eyes.

“You never actually said yes.” He took the ring out of the box and slid it onto Alex’s finger with a smile on his face.

“You never actually asked.” Alex reached out and took Nicky’s left wrist in his hands, fingers warm against Nicky's cool skin. He tied the bracelet on with exaggerated care and Nicky couldn’t help but smile as he realized he liked the way Alex’s ring flashed when he moved. When the bracelet was securely tied, Alex pulled his hands back and dropped them into his lap. Nicky looked down and ran his fingers over the words that had been carved into the leather at his wrist. “Evie helped with first word. I tell her what I’m wanting to say and she give me right word.” Nicky nodded and blinked to keep the tears welling up in his eyes from spilling over and running down his cheeks.

“It means, to be enough. Never too much, never too little, always just the right amount.” Alex nodded and reached out to touch the Russian word.

“Just like Nicky. This means ‘home’. Just like Nicky, too.” He caught Alex’s hand in his and tangled their fingers together. “Oh, and Nicky?” He looked up, still barely keeping the tears in his eyes at bay. “Yes.”

 

“Are you ready for this?” Nicky looked up as he came out of the bathroom. Alex was half-naked and stretched lazily across his bed like a cat. Calling Alex a cat seemed fitting in a way, but he was less a house cat and more a black panther. A tired panther that looked like it could fall back asleep in half a second if it closed it's eyes, but a panther no less. Alex was fighting to stay awake and watching Nicky closely.

“Honestly?” Nicky asked as he pulled his sweatshirt over his head and smoothed his own hair down. Alex waited quietly and scratched at his beard with calloused fingers. “Not at all.” Nicky dropped back down onto the bed and Alex rolled to curl against his side. Nicky ran his long fingers through Alex’s messy hair and yawned. He looked at the clock and then at the window, where the sun was gradually rising into the sky.

“We sleep more?” Alex said, half asleep and struggling to string words together. Nicky snuggled down into the bed and pulled the blankets up over them, relishing in the feeling of Alex pressed against him, solid and real.

“Sleep more.” Nicky said with a small nod, letting one hand settle on the back of Alex’s neck while the other curled around Alex’s on his hip.

 

When Nicky and Alex finally dragged themselves out of bed and made it back to Nicky’s house, the sun was starting to set. Nicky had tried twice to drag Alex out of bed, because they had to cook and clean and get his house ready for the literal pack of wolves that was going to descend on it that night, but each time, Alex had drawn him back in, pulled him back down into the warm bed and curled around him until he’d lost all motivation to go anywhere else.

So naturally, it was Alex's fault that Braden, Andre, and Sergei were already sitting on his deck when they pulled up. The boys had their bags at their feet and were kicked back like they’d been there a while, but they were laughing and carrying on and Nicky couldn’t find it in him to feel bad.

“This is really happening?” Alex was holding on to Nicky’s fingers with bruising force, looking out at the trees that surrounded Nicky's house like they might bite him, or kidnap him, or both.

“It’s really happening.” Nicky squeezed his hand in what he hoped was a reassuring way and then got out of the car, knowing that Alex would follow. He gave the guys a small wave as he closed the door.

“Nice of you to join us,” Braden chirped, grabbing his bag and dragging himself to his feet. Burky and Bobrovsky both followed, smiling and chuckling as they came forward to meet them at the door.

“Giroux is here.” Braden commented as he waited for Nicky to get the door to his house open. As he let the others in, he spared a glance at Claude and offered him a small wave. The addition of his pack mates was grounding, but Nicky couldn’t shake the dread that had settled into the pit of his stomach. He waited for Claude at the door and then joined his pack inside.

He was so distracted by trying to keep his emotions off of his face and not broadcast to every wolf in the room that he was anxious, that he didn’t even notice the mouthwatering scent of food that radiated through his house. When he got to the kitchen, the boys were standing perfectly still with their jaws all but resting on the floor. Nicky’s brain caught up with his eyes and a smile broke out across his face as he realized that the table was piled high with food and there was a note on counter with a single lotus blossom beside it. Nicky reached for it, even though he already it was from Evie.

“From my family to yours because family is what we fight for. All my love, Evie.” The boys smiled and Nicky reached out to touch the lotus flower with the tips of his fingers. The petals of the flower were the exact color of Evie's eyes.

“It smells awesome in here,” Tyler said as he came through the door. He dropped his bag on the floor and headed straight for the kitchen, where he blew past everyone else and sat down. He’d stabbed a steak with a fork and started cutting in to it before he even realized that the others were watching him instead of joining him. Nicky laughed and gestured toward the table.

“By all means, eat. She would be mad if we didn’t.” He dropped the note to the counter and followed them to the table. As he sat down, he reached for Evie. She was close, hovering somewhere in the city so she could come when she was called. _You made us dinner?_ Her laugh sounded inside his head as he reached out to fill his plate with food.

 _We did. We knew how hard tomorrow was going to be for them—for you—and we thought it might help to have a good meal that you didn’t have to cook. Death isn't foreign to us, but I know how you feel about it._ For a second, he felt her press closer, like she was giving him a mental hug, and then she pulled away, leaving him to enjoy the feeling of his family sitting at the table around him.

For the first time in weeks, Nicky ate enough that he felt full.


	10. Let him burn.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicky tells the pack the truth. Together, they get revenge.

“So, you ready to tell us what’s got your shoulders tied in knots or are we going to pretend it’s nothing until it’s too late and we’re out of time to talk about it.” Nicky felt Alex tense against his stomach and blew all the air out of his lungs, watching Tyler finish off the last of his Gatorade. Nicky hesitated for ten long seconds and then Alex shifted off of him and let him sit up.

“Tell them, Nicky. They’ll take it better now than they would tomorrow.” Braden shifted his weight and resettled, letting Andre use his lap as a pillow and watching them with sharp eyes. Nicky exhaled and let the words tumble out in a rush.

They’d been born wolves, for the most part, so they knew what was coming the minute he mentioned the photographs. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected from them, not really, but what he got was the opposite of it. He’d counted on them being angry, but he’d expected them to be angry with him and they weren’t. Every bit of the anger in the room was directed at someone else, some nameless, faceless creature that had a knife to Nicky's throat and a pair of scissors hovering around the strings that tied Alex to Russia.

“Tell me we get to be there when this bastard dies.” Bobrovsky had been quiet while Nicky talked. Bobrovsky was never quiet and that should have been Nicky's first clue that something was wrong, but it wasn't. When he did speak the anger rolled out of him in waves so strong they felt like wrecking balls on Nicky's  skin. His English, for once, was crisp and clear. Nicky could feel the wolf stirring under Sergei’s skin and his own wolf reacted, coiling like it wanted to be set free. He knew the others felt it too.

“You all get to do the honors.” Evie appeared between one heartbeat and the next, but no one jumped when she spoke. She was dressed minimally, in spandex shorts and a tank top, and her long hair was loose around her shoulders like textured silk. Nicky could smell the change on her, heavy and familiar. She made the room smell like vanilla and cedar and freedom, just by being in it. Nicky felt the need to run under his skin, like fine sandpaper.

“Did you run all the way here?” She nodded and ran a hand through her hair, pushing it back away from her face. Only then did Nicky realize there was a thin layer of sweat clinging to her olive skin and making her shimmer in the fading sunlight. Nicky felt Braden shift and did his best to shut him out before he had to acknowledge the heat burning under the larger man's  skin.

“I stashed some clothes the last time I was here, just in case. Something tells me a room full of hockey players is the last place I want to end up naked.” It was a joke as much as it wasn’t and Nicky felt a string of inappropriate comments roll off of the boys behind him.  Evie's sparkling eyes told Nicky that she'd heard what Braden was thinking as clearly as he had, and that, somehow, made it more bearable. A smile broke out over Nicky’s face. He scolded his boys gently, reminding them that, as his Alpha, Evie could hear them just as clearly as he could. He managed to avoid laughing at the way they all threw walls up around their thoughts and turned his full attention back to Evie.

“Why are you here? Full moon is tomorrow.” Evie glanced over her shoulder to the tree line and Nicky’s ears twitched. There were others, he realized, concealed just inside the shadows. He hadn’t heard them at first, over the soundproofing in his walls.

“I thought you’d want to meet them,” she paused and smiled. They all recognized that the shift of her eyes meant someone was talking to her from a place they could not see. “They thought you all should make friends with people that didn’t want to kill you for being better at hockey than them and now they are taking bets about who’s faster and who’d win in a fight…” The smile on Nicky’s face turned playful and he arched a golden eyebrow in Evie’s direction.

“I’ve got no frame of reference for how your people fight, but I’ve only ever met one person who can out run me and she’s out of practice, letting portals make her lazy.” Evie’s purple eyes widened at the chirp and a matching smile broke over her face.

“You’re on, Bäckström.”

 

 _Nicky?_ Alex’s voice was soft against the inside of Nicky’s head, quiet and small, like he was afraid of being overheard. Nicky shifted and pressed himself closer to the large black wolf beside him.

 _What’s wrong, Sasha?_ The Guardians—and the few members of the North American pack they’d had with them—had retreated into the woods as it got closer to sunrise, leaving Nicky and his pack alone in his yard to ride out the final hour of their change. Nicky could still smell them, could hear them in the distance, running through the acres of thick vegetation that surrounded his house, but they were keeping their distance. He was—not for the first time—grateful that Evie had the foresight to make him buy the land around the house too, so it would always be there when they needed it. Ovi nosed at Nicky’s neck and buried his entire face in Nicky’s thick fur.

 _Have you done this before?_ ‘This’ seemed like a painfully heavy word, encompassing so much with so few letters. Nicky inhaled slowly, remembering the first time he’d seen a wolf executed. He’d been in Sweden still, and too young to participate, but he’d heard the stories of how the man was hunting wolf girls, tying them up and forcing them to change, so that they bodies would be torn apart by the positions they were in. He’d seen two others since then and he shivered internally as he remembered the way their bodies had looked as they burned.

 _It happens sometimes._ Alex knew what he meant and even though they were already pressed together, the big black wolf managed to press himself closer. It felt, Nicky thought, like Alex was using him as a shield, a way to hide from the world. Nicky didn't mind.

A few minutes passed in silence, and then the first rays of morning sunlight broke through the clouds on the horizon. Nicky felt something shift in his core. Alex’s change started almost immediately, rolling softly through his muscles and joints with a series of pops and clicks. Nicky held tight to his own wolf, taking advantage of his large size and wrapping himself around his human, to shield him from any and everything that could hurt him. If Alex wanted a Nicky shield, Nicky was going to give him one.

 _You don’t have to protect me, Nicky._ If Nicky’s vocal chords had been capable of a laugh, he’d have laughed loud and hard and probably woken every one of his sleeping pack mates. Instead, he projected the sound of a chuckle into Alex’s mind and nosed the side of his face.

 _You’ve spent the better part of a decade putting your body between me and everyone that’s tried to hurt me and I’ve let you, because I know you can take a punch and it makes you happy to do it so I don’t have to. But this isn’t a hockey fight and those pictures are bullets, not punches. If one of us has to get hurt in this, it won’t be you._ In any other setting there would have been an argument. At another time, in another place, Alex would have told Nicky he was being stupid and tried to convince him that he—the Russian Machine—could handle anything. But there, in that moment and that place, Nicky knew Alex wouldn’t argue, because he’d be lying to both of them. For once in his lifetime, Alexander the Gr8 couldn’t win a fight on his own.

“I love you.” Alex reached out to touch the side of Nicky’s head with one large hand. Even as a wolf, Nicky’s eyes were unmistakable, sharp and icy and warm. Nicky exhaled and let the change roll over his body, so that he could cover Alex’s hand with his own and kiss him.

“I love you, too.”

 

Nicky had expected it to be harder. Evie had put wards up around his house so that she’d know the second the mystery photographer opened a door and then they’d gone running, like it was any other full moon. They’d broken off into groups of five or six and put miles between themselves before Evie felt anything. She, Nicky, Alex, Braden, and two of her packmates were in a small clearing, wrestling and playing with an old soccer ball when she felt him, distinctly human and walking through Nicky's front door. She’d been mid lunge, ready to launch herself at Alex, when she’d gone still.

 _What’s wrong with her?_ One of her packmates approached and started to nudge Evie’s side, but Nicky stopped her.

 _Let her listen._ The clearing went still and Nicky could barely make out the sounds of the others, spread out through the expanse of the land and running with the moonlight on their backs. Whatever Evie was hearing was too quiet for him to hear.

 _Do you smell that?_ Nicky closed his eyes and drew a breathe. Over the smell of the wolves around him he caught a whiff of somethign new and foreign.

 _Patchouli and expensive coffee and body spray._ The girl at Evie’s side wrinkled her nose. Evie blinked and shook herself free.

 _Don’t breathe through your noses or your olfactory senses will be shot for the night._ And then, to everyone, _He’s here. Set up a perimeter around the house and don’t make a sound._ Evie jerked her head in the direction of the house, but defered to Nicky and let him lead them back with Alex at his side. It was the first time Nicky had ever run with Evie following and he was too distracted to enjoy it.

The group reached Nicky’s house in just over three minutes and the rest of his pack joined them less than a minute after that. They changed back just inside the treeline and retrieved their clothes, preferring—for the most part—not to face the mystery man naked. Evie changed back too, pulling an oversized tshirt and spandex shorts on to cover herself. She, like Ovi, would probably have faced the man naked, if not for Nicky and his sensibilities.

“Go get him, I’ve got you.” Evie’s magic sparked around her fingers and she nodded toward the house. The magic in the air felt like static against Nicky’s too-hot skin and the wards around his house shimmered. The adrenaline coursing through Nicky's veins did _not_ make the post-change fire in his belly any easier to ignore.

“Start the pyre,” he said softly to Evie’s packmates. They too had dressed, pulling on clothes they’d stashed so they wouldn’t draw attention as they moved about his yard. Nicky realized with a start that the man was a player, familiar and broad. He dipped his head in acknowledgement, offered Nicky a small smile, and then followed the girl across the driveway.

“New York isn’t a good place to be a werewolf without a pack, we found him before he got himself in trouble,” Evie said quietly, eyes following the shape of her retreating packmates. Then, she jerked her head in the direction of his house and said again, “Go get him.” Nicky motioned for his pack to follow. He, Alex, and Braden all followed the mystery man through the side door and the others went around to take the front and back doors, in case he tried to run.

He put up a hell of a fight, for a human. Nicky got to him first, while he was rumaging through the closet in his bedroom. Instead of approaching, Nicky leaned against the wall by the door and folded his arms across his chest. He knew the second he opened his mouth that he'd been spending way too much time with Alex.

“Did you lose something?” the man jerked up and turned so fast he dislodged half of the clothes hanging above him and nearly fell onto the floor. Braden and Alex heard him speak and came closer, hovering just out of sight and waiting for his permission to come help. Nicky pushed off the wall and walked toward the man. For effect, he stuck his hands into  the pockets of his sweats.

“I didn’t, uh... I just...” Nicky shrugged and let out a bitter laugh, gesturing to the closet with his whole body.

“You made a mess. I’m going to have to wash all of my clothes now, just to get your stink off of them.” The man struggled for words, holding his flashlight loose in his hand and sweating heavily.

“I’m sorry, I was just...” Something inside of Nicky snapped and he whipped a hand out, taking the intruder by the arm and twisting him violently to his stomach on the ground. It reminded him distantly of pinning Alex to the ice, except that the human was soft in every place that Alex was hard, and he wasn't strong enough to really fight back/ Nicky growled against his ear, using his weight to press the man's face into the floor.

“You were just, what? Come on, lie to me, I dare you.” The man gave up on trying to talk himself out of his situation and went still under Nicky. “That’s what I thought.” Nicky let up and yanked the man to his feet. He shoved him toward the bedroom door, where Alex and Braden each took an arm and steered the man out through the front door. As Andre and Sergei made it to him, the pyre in his yard roared to life and sent shadows dancing across his furniture.

“I thought he’d be bigger.” Nicky chuckled and shook his head, shoving his messy curls out of his face. They followed the others out into the yard, but Andre grabbed his arm as they stepped into the grass.

“Won’t people be able to see the fire?” He nodded in the direction of the fire, burning bright and tall. Nicky shook his head and pointed at Evie, hovering off to one side of the action, just beyond the ring of Guardians that had gathered, ready to spring if the man got loose.

“The entire Monumental Sports Network could be standing in my driveway and they wouldn’t be able to see or smell a thing, if she didn’t want them to.” Andre looked scared, impressed, and maybe a little turned on, but he didn’t say anything else as he and Nicky walked out to join the others. Alex and Braden had almost made it to the tarp that had been placed on the ground when the man they were escorting ’stumbled’ and pitched forward. The sudden change in direction broke their hold on his arms and gave the man time to reach for the gun Nicky hadn’t realized was tucked into the waistband of his jeans. It was aimed at his heart before anyone could react.

Evie, focused on her casting, hadn’t even noticed.

“Move and i’ll shoot him,” Nicky raised his hands, palms out, and shook his head when he saw Alex tense. He wasn’t afraid of the gun, but he also wasn’t going to let anyone else catch the bullet meant for him by accident.

“No one is going to move,” Nicky reached for Evie in his mind and saw the moment she felt him tugging. The air flared with energy and a tendril of her magic curled around the man’s wrist, freezing his entire body in place. She walked over to him slowly, reminding him with every step that she was the one in charge, and when she reached him, she ran the razor sharp edge of a claw down the side of his face.

“I don’t like when people point guns at my friends.” Nicky winced at the sugary sweetness of her voice, dripping with beauty and venom. She circled around to put herself between Nicky and the barrel of the gun. “How about we play a game? You win, you live. I win, you die. Deal?” The man nodded as the hold of her magic releasing just enough to allow the motion. Nicky wanted to argue, but he and everyone else in the clearing were frozen in place by Evie's invisible vice grip.

“I’m going to let you go on the count of three and then there will be three options for what comes next. If you pull that trigger and I die, you’re free. No one will hunt you and you will be able to live your life knowing that you killed Lucifer's only daughter. If you put the gun down and don’t resist when they restrain you, we’ll kill you quickly and painlessly. And, if you pull that trigger but I don’t die, we’ll make your death hurt more than anything you’ve ever imagined. Deal?” The man nodded and Evie’s magic retreated as she counted down.

 _Evie, what are you doing?_ She took a step forward so that the muzzle of the gun was inches from her chest. Nicky felt her release them all, giving them the ability to move and trusting them not to. Nicky could tell that Alex wanted to grab the gun as badly as he did, but neither of them moved. The man seemed torn, hand shaking as he held the gun even with Evie’s heart.

“Take your time,” she said kindly, the violet of her eyes flickering white as she stood calmly in front of the man. The hand holding the gun dipped and Nicky let himself believe for a minute that it was going to be that easy. At the last possible second, as Nicky started to exhale, the man snapped the gun back up and pulled the trigger. Everything after that happened in slow motion.

Evie didn't fall. Her eyes flashed and her magic flared around her as the bullet passed through her chest, but she didn't fall. Nicky saw the bullet come out just below her shoulder blade and expected it to hit him, but it flared white and disintegrated a few inches from his chest. Evie grabbed the man’s wrist and sent the gun flying across the yard so fast that Nicky wasn't sure she moved at all. The gun landed on the ground just in front of one of her Guardians, who looked infinitely calmer than Nicky felt.

“You lose,” Evie spun the man around and kicked the back of his knees so he’d fall to the ground. With one hand on his shoulder and her magic holding his wrists together at his back, Evie turned to face Nicky. There was a hole in her shirt where the bullet passed through, but the wound was already knitting itself closed.

“Jasper, Micah, get rid of his car. Elaina, Jamie, toss his house, make sure there’s nothing else we need to worry about. My car is in the structure next to my building, keys are in my bag by the door.” The wolves she named peeled off and changed, dressing so they could go about their tasks without being too conspicuous. With her keys in hand, they disappeared through a portal. “He’s all yours.” She released her hold on the man and retreated to her place at the edge of the circle. Nicky saw her rub her chest in his peripheral vision and his anger flared anew.

The man was a perfect stranger, roundish in the middle and completely unremarkable in every way he could think of. The stranger, harmless though he may have seemed, had gotten close enough to learn one of Nicky’s dearest secrets. Someone he wouldn’t have remembered, even if he’d met him a dozen times, had nearly cost him everything. He’d nearly lost Alex and Evie and hockey and his home, all because of one man. And now was his chance to save it all.

He looked at his pack, his family, and nodded.

 _Show him what you think of people who threaten out family._ The boys were laying in to the stranger before Nicky had taken three steps toward Evie. He walked to her quietly, head down, and intentionally avoided looking in the direction of the beating.

 _Are you okay?_ Evie nodded but didn’t look at him. She was favoring her shoulder, curling in to make breathing easier. They stood there in silence for a long moment, nothing but the sounds of knuckles and flesh in the air.

 _I’ll be fine when you kill him._ Nicky made a noise of amusement that wasn’t quite a chuckle and bumped her with his elbow. He followed her line of sight to where Alex was kneeling, talking in low tones to the stranger.

“String him up for me? St. Andrew’s style, if you don’t mind.” Evie’s magic brushed against the back of Alex’s neck and urged him gently back away from the man. As soon as he was clear, she had him strung up by invisible threads, nicely gift wrapped for whatever Nicky was going to do to him. He was already bleeding when Nicky got to him, with bruises blooming on his face and blood running from the corner of his mouth.

“I’m sorry… I’ll never tell anyone, I swear…” His rambling was nearly incoherent, strings of apologies and promises Nicky didn’t care to hear. He took the man by his chin and met his eyes.

“What’s your name?” The man tugged uselessly at his hands and tried to breathe through what Nicky guessed were a hand full of broken ribs.

“Bryson,” he managed, wheezing slightly as he exhaled.

“Bryson. Did you know that a werewolf’s shoulders are incapable of being put into the position that yours are in right now?” Nicky looked up and the moon and then leaned in and sank his canine teeth into the meat of Bryson’s shoulder. The human’s heart beat once, twice, three times, and then Nicky’s venom had spread far enough for the change to start and Nicky took a step back. His spine was curving and he was screaming and Nicky almost felt bad for him, until he looked at Alex again and remembered the cost of letting the man live. The man yanked violently at the invisible ties holding him up and screamed in pain.

“You satisfied?” Braden nodded, and then Sergei, Claude, Tyler, and Andre. Alex was last and at first he shook his head. The skin of Bryson’s shoulders was separating from the bone and the screams of pain were turning to defeated whimpers. Nicky waited until Alex nodded and then, with Alex’s blessing, he let his claws extend and tore through the man’s carotid artery. The man's heart beat once, twice, and then stopped.

“Let him burn, Evie.” Nicky stepped back and wiped Bryson’s blood from the side of his face and the tips of his fingers.


	11. Miss the girl.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evie leaves and the boys miss her, so when Braden invites her to a game, she comes.

“Next time you come to visit us, don’t do it because the world is ending, alright?” Braden shook Evie’s hand and let her pull him in for a hug. She was the last of the Guardians left and she’d only stayed because she was worried about Nicky. She ruffled Braden’s hair and then scratched at his beard with gentle fingers.

“You’ve got my number, call me sometime and we’ll hit the ice, see if a goalie can outskate a girl.” She winked at him and moved on, giving Sergei a bear hug before she turned to Alex and Nicky.

“You going to take care of him for me?” Alex looked up at her and then down at Nicky, stretched out and sleeping soundly with his head in Alex’s lap. There were curls the color of sunshine sticking out in every direction around Nicky's head. They were bright against the dark fabric of Alex's sweats and made it look like Nicky had a halo.

“Gonna try. He’s difficult.” Evie smiled knowingly and leaned down to kiss Alex’s head, where grey streaked through black and fell into his forehead.

“Call me if he gets too difficult, I’m never too far away,” she leaned down and ruffled Nicky’s curls just enough that he cracked his eyes open, then kissed his temple and whispered a soft goodbye. As soon as she was gone, the smell of food filled the air around them. Braden looked up, realized what the smell was, and followed it like a dog. He came back a second later holding a small piece of cardstock in one hand and a lotus blossom in the other. He read the words aloud.

“Take care of your Alpha. He’s moody and he’s difficult, and he’ll make you crazy sometimes, but there are no others like him in this world and he loves you all more than you will ever know. Wake him up, make him eat, and remind him that he did it for you. It’ll help.” There was a heavy silence in the room when he finished and every pair of eyes fell on Nicky, who appeared to have fallen back asleep.

“Should we wake him?” Tyler asked, like the idea was as appealing as trying to slow dance with a hungry grizzly bear. He was already eating a piece of bread from the table and made a satisfied noise in the back of his throat as he leaned against the wall. Alex’s fingers were absently working their way through the length of Nicky’s hair, left to curl freely after he showered. He looked down at Nicky’s peaceful face and nearly jumped when Nicky spoke.

“She’d be mad if you didn’t.” Nicky’s eyes opened slowly, like he wasn’t sure he wanted to be awake. “And it smells like she made the chicken pasta thing I love.” He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his face. As he stood, he stretched the stiffness out of his back and made a low noise of pleasure as his muscles released.

“She did. There’s salad and a big bowl of the spaghetti stuff, and bread that tastes like heaven, and some kind of strange dessert that I can’t wait to eat.” They’d almost gotten used to having Evie in the house. She’d stayed with them for nearly two weeks after the fire, even as they had come and gone for games and practices and roadtrips. The space left behind when she departed wasn’t large, but they all felt it just the same. There was no one singing in the kitchen, no one pulling Nicky into a dance when he was sulking, no one pushing them to get up and move instead of laying around, and no one tinting the air around them with the smell of vanilla.

“She’s been gone five minutes, and you already miss her.” Nicky said it mid-stretch, so his voice sounded strange and tight. He relaxed and rolled his shoulders before he offered them a sad smile. “It’s okay, I miss her already too. Let’s eat.” He offered Alex a hand and pulled him to his feet.

 

Alex pushed his hips down against Nicky’s and a desperate whimper fell from his lips and into the space between their chests. Alex was aching and his breath was coming in ragged gasps through kiss-swollen lips. Alex arched up off of the bed and caught Nicky’s mouth in a desperate kiss. Nicky pressed down into him, shoving him into the mattress and chasing every bit of air from his lungs. When he broke away, Nicky buried his face in Alex’s neck and still his hips, forcing himself to breathe and regain his control.

When he was ready, Nicky pulled back and took hold of Alex’s hips, fucking into him mercilessly. The pace was punishing and the feeling of Nicky’s hips colliding with his drew delicious sounds from Alex’s mouth, one after the next. As Nicky picked up speed, Alex’s eyes closed and his head fall back into the pillows. Alex’s English slipped as the heat in his belly intensified and spread up the base of his spine. He let out a string of Russian curses and grabbed on to Nicky, digging his fingers in to his forearms until his nails left little half moons of blood behind.

“Look at me,” Nicky said, his voice a low growl, coming all the way from his belly. He thrust deep and Alex let out a groan, knowing he was going to be sore and not caring for a single second. The soreness of a night spent with Nicky was something he’d grown used to, something he’d learned to savor every minute of. He knew that when it started to fade, he’d miss it and crave it more than anything else.

“G-ddamn it, I said look at me,” Nicky actually growled then, a low sound that filled the room and sent goose bumps out over every inch of Alex’s skin. He bit down on Alex’s chest and dug his fingers into his hips so hard he knew there would be bruises for days. Every time he saw him, he’d imagine the way his fingers fit perfectly in the outline of the bruises, marking him, claiming him. Alex forced his head up. Nicky’s green eyes had gone dark and his pupils were blown wide.

Nicky groaned and brought a hand up to tangle his fingers in Alex’s hair. He pulled him in for one last bruising kiss as the heat in Alex’s belly became too much. He came untouched, shooting cum across Nicky’s stomach and bearing down on Nicky’s length. Nicky swore and followed him over the edge as he pressed Alex into the mattress.

 

 **Hey Evie, it’s Braden. We play Columbus on Tuesday in Columbus. You should come. It’ll be a good game.** Braden sent the text message while he was on the floor of his living room, stretching out the stiffness that he’d acquired by sleeping too long. He didn’t necessarily expect a response, didn’t even know if she’d want to come watch them at all, but he’d wanted to invite her anyway. She’d been gone a few weeks and everything had pretty much gone back to normal without her, but something was missing. They got up and they practiced and they went home and they ran and then they got up the next day and played a game, just to do it all over again.

The pack had been apart for weeks, busy with their own teams and their own schedules. But even when they were there, taking up every inch of free space in Nicky’s house, there was something fundamentally absent in the air. It was lonely in Washington without the other wolves and Braden wasn’t sure how he’d ever managed to cope with being alone. Werewolves weren't supposed to be alone. There was laughter in the air when Evie was around, joy and warmth and community. She brought them friends, people who understood them fundamentally, the way humans couldn't. She brought them family.

They ate better when she was around, too. Like kings.

She answered his message before he changed stretches.

 **Is that an open invitation?** He laughed and told her it was. He told her Nicky would be glad to see her, but he knew as well as she did that it wasn’t just Nicky.

 **It’s been a while since I’ve had a vacation. A night off might do me some good.** Braden shifted forward and laid on his stomach on the floor.

 **What does ‘a while’ mean?** **Everyone deserves a vacation.** Braden rolled on to his back and rocked, bringing his legs up over his head to stretch his lower back.

 **I went to Sweden in the nineties. We’ll be there before puck drop.** Braden smiled to himself and decided he wouldn’t tell the others, so they could be surprised if she came and wouldn't be disappointed if she didn't make it. As he stretched, he pondered the idea of going over two decades without a vacation. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that the absurdity of it all hit him. Evie wasn't old enough to have been in Sweden in the nineties, she'd have been a toddler.

 **Wait, hold on, how old are you?** If Braden’s mother had been there she’d have smacked him on the back of the head for asking a woman her age, but his mother had never met Evie and she wouldn’t be able to appreciate the level of confusion Braden was feeling. He sat up, stretching forgotten, and stared at his phone. Evie responded with two photographs, one taken of an old picture, the other of the back of the same picture. In careful script, the back of the photograph read ‘E.M. and D. Cheney 1975’. Evie looked exactly the same in the photograph as she had the day she and Braden met. A moment later, a text message came.

 **Let’s just say, I’ve been a fixture in Washington since long before you or the Capitals were a thought in anyone’s mind.** Braden recognized the name Cheney but couldn’t place it. A quick Google search later and he realized the man with his arm around Evie in the picture was President Ford’s Chief of Staff. She looked exactly the same, but her eyes weren't purple, they were clear blue and shining bright.


	12. Daydream Distractions.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicky daydreams on the plane and can't shake it when they hit the ice.

Nicky and Alex sat separately on the plane for once and Nicky didn’t like it. The flight to Columbus wasn’t long, especially compared to some of the others they’d taken, but it felt strange not to be spending it with a large Russian taking up half of his seat.

Ovi was a row in front of Nicky and across the aisle, sitting against the window with his headphones in. TJ was sitting next to him, flipping through the glossy pages of a magazine, and in the seat beside Nicky, Andre was turned sideways and talking to Willy. Nicky was staring absently out the window at the tarmac.

Alex didn’t realize that he was being pulled into Nicky’s daydream until they reached cruising altitude and it was too late to stop it. Every thought that pressed into his mind from Nicky’s consciousness came to life on his skin, sending his nervous system into overdrive. Alex closed his eyes and surrendered.

Nicky’s body was hot, radiating enough heat into the air that Alex could feel it on his skin from across the plane. If he could feel it, he was certain Andre could too, sitting with Nicky’s thigh pressed against his. A small part of Alex wanted to get up, to make Andre trade him places so he could shake Nicky out of fantasy land and regain a small sliver of composure. The other, much larger part of him, was enjoying every second and didn’t want it to end.

Since he couldn’t stand without every one of his teammates getting an eyeful of the erection straining his dress pants, the decision was made for him. He shifted to relieve some of the pressure in his lap and allowed himself to be overrun by the fantasies flashing through Nicky’s head.

He could feel how hard Nicky was, the heavy throb of his cock and the desperate need that was building in his belly.

Nicky was imagining the way it would feel to take Alex apart, piece by piece, surrounded by their teammates. He was imagining being on his knees with Alex’s cock in his mouth and his hands in his hair. In the daydream, Nicky’s lips were red and straining as he swallowed the length of his hard cock. Alex was barely holding himself together when the daydream changed. Suddenly, Nicky and the next, he was hovering over him on the bed, eyes dark with desire as he… oh. The breath rushed out of Alex’s lungs at the feeling of Nicky sinking down on to him.

 _Nicky…_ Alex reached desperately toward his Alpha and shifted, knowing that the only way he was going to avoid coming in his pants was to relieve some of the pressure. To his surprise, Nicky reached back, voice heavy with need, even inside Alex’s head.

 _Nicky… you have to… I can’t…_ Nicky turned in his seat and looked right at Alex. Their eyes locked and the onslaught of sensation that came next was too much. Nicky must have realized Sasha liked the idea of fucking him, because his mind filled with the sensation of it, the warmth of Nicky stretching to accommodate him and the roughness of Nicky’s calloused fingers on his overheated skin.

 _Fuck, fuck, fuck… Nicky, I can’t, I’m going to… fuck…_ He could almost feel Nicky’s delicious heat sliding up and down on his cock as sounds of sinful delight dropped from Nicky’s kiss-reddened lips and it was too much. He screwed his eyes closed and tried to think of something else, anything else. He couldn’t. The image of Nicky sinking down on him, milking every ounce of come from his twitching cock was the last thing Alex saw before he was coming in his briefs. When the waves of his orgasm subsided and he could open his eyes, Alex looked back at Nicky.

 _You’re going to kill me like that._ Nicky’s green eyes snapped up and Alex shifted uncomfortably in his seat, counting down the minutes until they would land and he’d be able to throw his sticky underwear away. Nicky had his lips pressed together and was barely containing a laugh. Andre was sniffing the air and looking around. Braden had his headphones in and his eyes locked on Alex.

 _You couldn’t wait until we were off the plane?_ Alex’s face burned and Nicky burst out laughing loud enough to earn him strange looks from half of their teammates.

 

“What’s the matter, Nicky?” Andre bumped Nicky’s shoulder as he sat down. They were skating onto the ice for the opening faceoff in less than two minutes and Nicky knew he was rapidly running out of time to get his head on right. The fire running through his veins didn’t matter. The warmth in his belly didn’t matter. The fact that he hadn’t had time to relieve the pressure that had been building up since the flight didn’t matter. Nicky had a game to play.

Braden reappeared from whatever empty room he’d been hiding in just as Alex finished his conversation with Trotz and dropped down on the floor at Nicky’s feet. Alex’s ring was on a chain hanging around his neck and tucked safely beneath his pads and it Nicky liked that he was the only one who knew it was there. Alex offered him a soft smile and then they were lining up to skate out onto the ice.

It didn’t matter if Nicky was ready or not, the game waited for no one.

Three minutes in, Nicky found himself in the penalty box. He hung his head, followed the puck up and down the ice with his eyes, and beat himself up for taking a penalty he couldn’t afford. The sin bin was quieter than anywhere else in the arena and it gave Nicky a chance to breathe.

He was getting ready to skate out of the box when he saw them for the first time, which was impressive in and of itself, because they were everywhere. The Guardians and their friends were taking up nearly two rows behind the bench and trickling over into the section immediately beside it. There were a dozen of them sitting behind the Columbus bench, sporting Bobrovsky’s name on the backs of their jerseys and more spread down along the boards behind Braden, his name worn proudly on their t-shirts, sweatshirts, and jerseys. It made Nicky smile to see their faces, many familiar and some new. He glanced at Braden as the door to the box opened.

 _Do you see them?_ Braden’s answer came immediately because the puck was down in front of Sergei and he nodded, tracing the line of jersey-clad bodies with his eyes.

 _I invited them, but I didn’t think there’d be so many_. Nicky laughed to himself at the amazement he heard in Braden’s voice and exhaled until some of the tension faded from his shoulders. Evie winked at him as he skated toward the bench and suddenly he was staring at his name on the back of two dozen white jerseys. Evie was wearing one of the first jersey’s he’d ever signed. His heart smiled.

Andre, Bob, and Alex all seemed just as surprised and delighted to have friends in the audience as he was, and Nicky smiled every time he looked up into the stands. He took a deep breath for the first time and shook the last of the tension from his shoulders.

Alex made faces at them every time he skated toward the bench at the end of his shift and Nicky laughed. With seven minutes left in the first, Nicky scored. As he skated past Bobrovsky, he smiled.

 _You never make it easy, do you?_ Bobrovsky shrugged and reached for his water bottle, a sweet smile visible through his mask. He took a drink and squirted water on his face.

 _I just stop the puck._ Nicky laughed aloud and shook his head.

Alex scored three minutes into the second and then tried two more times immediately after. Bobrovsky sent each away easily and reset for the next one.

Nicky scored on him again five minutes in and it was bittersweet, because it felt like scoring on his own team, in a way. Sergei wasn’t mad at him for taking the shot or for making it, but he was mad at himself for missing it and Nicky didn’t like that. He blew past the goal and circled around to celebrate with his team.

 _You’ll get the next one. I know it._ And he did. Brooks shot and Bobrovsky saved. Chorney shot and Bobrovsky saved. They changed directions to put Braden to work for a while and he saved two before it got back to Bob. It was battle of the goalie’s until the period was half gone and that’s when Braden gave one up. Andre countered thirty seconds later, sending the puck past Bobrovsky before he even had time to react. Both goal tenders were brick walls for the rest of the period.

Braden was the first to give one up in the third period and then it was Washington’s game. As much as Nicky hated the way losing looked on Bobrovsky, he loved the way winning looked on Alex.

Bob invited them all back to his house when the game was over, but Evie and the others politely declined, leaving it just the Caps boys and Bobrovsky himself. They ordered food before they left the arena and the delivery boy was pulling up when they got there. They stretched out and dug in, lounging lazily over Bobrovsky’s furniture the way they did Nicky’s.

The Caps boys knew they’d be required to return to their hotel for the night, but they planned to stay right where they were for as long as they possibly could.


	13. Tendie in trouble.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First game of the year. Backy is sick and Holtby's in a tight spot. So much for 'Happy New Year'.  
> ***TRIGGER WARNING****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I shouldn't have to say this because 'fan-fiction' literally has the word fiction in the name, but I will just in case.   
> THIS IS FICTION. Braden Holtby is a cinnamon roll who, to my knowledge, has never been accused of any kind of misconduct. This isn't exactly timeline compliant, but we're going to pretend their first game of the new year was a home game, because that's what I needed it to be.  
> Also, mentions of Kink in the next few chapters, so if that isn't your thing, maybe stop reading.  
> I'm putting a trigger warning on this chapter for mentions of rape, so please proceed with caution.

It was the first game of the new year and Nicky didn’t make it to morning skate. He stayed in his bedroom with the lights off and his phone face down on his bedside table, hoping he’d manage to feel better before Trotz had to submit the lineup.

 _Are you at practice right now?_ Nicky started at the sound of Evie’s voice in his head. It didn’t hurt the way it would have if she’d been in the room, talking with her mouth, but he hadn’t been expecting it either way. He glanced at the clock and then closed his eyes again.

 _He should be, I’m in my bed._ He could practically feel her eyebrows drawing together.

 _Are you okay? Migraine?_ He made a sound of agreement in the back of his throat and then remembered that she couldn’t hear him and laughed at himself.

 _Yeah. Still hoping to play tonight. What did you need Braden for?_ There was a stretch of silence and Nicky realized that she was barely managing to keep her voice even. He imagined she was probably pacing and wringing her hands. He reached for Braden, tugging at his consciousness until he came into focus.

 _Aren’t you supposed to be sick?_ Nicky would have rolled his eyes if he wasn’t so sure it would hurt.

 _I am. But you can’t get to your phone and Evie apparently needs your attention right now. So, here we are._ Nicky felt a mix of interest, confusion, and something else from Braden, but he didn’t have the energy to pay it any attention. Instead, he let himself drift as far from their conversation as he could to give them some semblance of privacy, since he would be listening to every word.

 _How quickly can you get to a phone?_ Braden’s presence was cold, even from a distance, and Nicky knew from experience that it meant he was on the ice. The others, Andre and Alex specifically, were cold too, floating at the back of his mind and slightly out of focus.

 _It’s going to be after morning skate probably. If not then, it’ll be after the game. Why?_ Even from a distance, Nicky could feel Evie’s frustration bubbling around under her voice. Braden must have picked it up too, because he sounded nervous. Nicky pushed himself back into the conversation.

 _Evie, care to tell us what’s going on? You’re going to give my goalie a heart attack on game day._ She inhaled and exhaled and stopped pacing.

 _Braden, I need you to know that Nicky can hear everything I say when we talk like this and I need you to know that what I’m about to tell you is private. If you’re okay with him hearing, I can tell you now, otherwise, I need you to get to a phone. Quickly._ Braden felt like he was considering it for a second, but shrugged.

 _I’d probably tell him anyway. Shoot._ Nicky was too concerned to be flattered and dragged himself into a sitting position in his bed.

 _Something tells me you’re going to miss this one._ She said it softly, like she might have intended to say it out loud and under her breath, but they both heard. It sounded ominous and neither of them felt inclined to acknowledge the play on words. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

 _I got a concerning voicemail just now from a friend._ She paused and it sounded like she cracked her neck to give herself time to think. Nicky couldn’t remember a time he’d ever witnessed Evie so nervous.

 _Evie, spit it out. What did your friend say?_ Nicky ran a hand through his hair and adjusted his pillows so he could lean back against them.

 _Here, I think you should hear it._ There was a beat of silence and then a voice that wasn’t Evie’s came through their heads, a little metallic but identifiably female.

 _Hey E, I know this is kinda out of the blue ‘cause I haven’t seen you in a while, but, uh, something’s happening and since you’re friends with that one hockey player guy _—you know, the one with the great ass and the curls— _I thought you might want a heads up. I don’t know if you ever met Darlin’ but she was all over message board this weekend saying one of the players on that team raped her during a scene. She’s planning on going to go to the press ‘cause she says that’s the only way famous people can be held accountable. I don’t know if it’s true what she says he did, but you might want to give your friend a heads up since he’s probably going to get questions. I just thought you should know, that’s all. Bye, E, see you soon._ __ The voice stopped talking and the silence stretched out for a long time. Every muscle in Nicky’s body had tensed up while the voicemail played and he could feel the Braden’s stillness through their connection.

 _There are only two Capitals players I know of that go to kink events and Nicky doesn’t play with women._ Evie, for her part, seemed calmer once it was out in the open. Nicky was relieved to have her looking out for him and his teammates, but he wasn't sure what the next step was supposed to be. Braden and Nicky were both still frozen in place, Nicky with his head dropped back into a pillow pile and Braden with his chest pressed into the ice at Kettler. Nicky could feel Alex stirring in the back of his mind, concerned by the sudden shift in Braden’s behavior. Andre hadn’t noticed yet, but no one had ever accused the kid of being observant, so Nicky didn’t think that was much of an indicator. He was pretty sure the fans would notice if Braden couldn't get it together.

 _I would never…_ Braden sounded like he was barely holding it together. Evie cut him off.

 _Unfortunately, right now whether you would, wouldn’t, did, or didn’t… It doesn’t matter. I’m on my way to talk to her, but if I can’t get to her before she gets to the reporters, you’re going to walk out of the arena into an ambush._ Alex’s suspicion was growing and Nicky could feel him, seconds away from going over to ask Braden if he was seeing ghosts or spontaneously losing his mind.

 _Holts, you have to act at least moderately normal or Ovi and Andre and the fans watching you are going to know something is wrong._ Braden’s breathing was rough and even though Nicky could tell he was making an effort, he could feel the wolf stirring anxiously under his skin. That made him nervous.

 _I’m trying. I just… I wouldn’t… This is a lot to process. I’m being sent to run drills and I feel like I'm going to fall over if I get up off the ice._ Nicky got up and walked to his closet to get dressed, still functioning completely in the dark.

 _For the record, Holts, I believe you._ Braden let go of massive breath and the whirlwind of his emotions seemed to settle just slightly.

 _Why do you suddenly feel like you’re moving?_ Nicky pulled his sweats on and grabbed the closest sweatshirt. He thought it was Alex's, but he didn't care.

 _I’m on my way there now._ Evie was moving too, like she’d gotten in her car.

 _Let me get to Kettler and I’ll see if I can take care of that headache for you._ Nicky sent her what amounted to a hum of appreciation and put sunglasses on so he could get to his car without throwing up.

 _What do I do?_ Braden’s voice was small and shaky and Nicky’s heart flipped in his chest. He wanted to tell him it would be okay, that he knew he would never hurt anyone and everyone that mattered would know that the girl was lying, but he couldn’t. If the girl accused him publically it would be a circus. The face that the context of the accusation would be kink related would only make it worse.

 _I checked the message boards, she’s planning on timing it so she’ll talking to the reporters when you come out of the arena. She’d controlling the narrative and setting you up to look like an ass regardless of how you respond._ Nicky turned the radio off in his car so he could focus on the road in front of him. Evie’s mind was working hard, even though her voice felt calm and strong. Nicky wondered absently if Braden could feel it too. It was grounding.

 _That doesn’t help me right now. It just makes me feel worse._ Braden bit the words out and sent another shot away. He was distracted and the wolf was stirring again, reacting to his emotions. Nicky could feel it and Alex could smell it and that was not good.

 _Do you want my advice?_ Nicky swerved around someone that was driving too slow and hit the gas, driving far faster than he should have been and listening to Evie talk with all the attention he could spare. It occurred to him in some part of his brain that he was driving like Alex, but he couldn't divert sufficient attention to finding it amusing.

 _Please_. It sounded like a plea and Nicky felt helpless. Braden was too strong to sound that weak. Three pucks in a row his the back of the net and Braden swore under his breath, fighting to regain even a sliver of the focus and concentration he was known for.

 _Get out of the arena._  Evie paused. _Change out of your gear, get your shit, and ask Nicky to take you to my apartment where no one will think to look for you. Go there and write down everything you can think of that could have caused this. Log into your account and send me every interaction you’ve ever had with this girl or anyone that might know her. Then call you agent, tell him what’s going on, and give him my number. When you’ve done all of that, turn off your phone, have a drink, and wait for me._ Nicky swore at the person in front of him on the road and dug his fingers into his forehead.

 _He can’t leave his car there and disappear._ Evie stopped moving and focused her full attention on Nicky. He smelled her magic in the air around him before he felt it on his skin. It curled around the bare of his skull and sank in, cool and soft. His headache was gone before he knew it and the muscles in his shoulders started to loosen. He let out a soft groan and banished his sunglasses to his passenger seat.

 _There’s room in the structure under my building. Have him follow you. I’m here and it looks like Darlin’s at the Starbucks around the corner. I’ll let you know what I find out._ Evie’s magic and her presence in their minds pulled back abruptly and Nicky could feel Braden skating off the ice, muttering a vague excuse to Alex as he passed and heading for the locker room.

_I’ll meet you at your car._


	14. No offense.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Braden and Nicky meet Evie's wife, who happens to know that Braden is kinky and innocent.

“How exactly are we going to get in?” The elevator doors opened and Braden followed Nicky into the hall. There were only two doors on the floor and Evie’s apartment was on the right.

“She’s going to let us in,” Nicky walked right up to the door and put his hand flat on the surface. Evie’s magic rippled almost undetectably around his fingers and the door swung open. Braden made a sound at the back of his throat that was something between impressed and suspicious, but followed Nicky into the loft. He froze just inside the door.

“This is nicer than my house,” the awe in Braden’s voice brought an amused smile to Nicky’s face and he looked up from the dining room table, where he’d deposited his bag in a chair and was taking off his shoes.

“Mine too. Probably not nicer than Sasha’s though.” Braden rolled his eyes so hard Nicky could hear it and grunted in agreement.

“What did you say she does for a living?” Braden shrugged his jacket off and hung it by the door so he could work on rolling the sleeves of his dress shirt up. He didn’t hear the girl coming until she spoke, and Nicky didn’t either.

“She fixes problems.” They both jumped. Nicky stood upright so quickly that he smacked the back of his head on the underside of the table. He swore in aggressively in Swedish and rubbed the back of his head as he righted himself.

The girl was mostly harmless looking. She just barely reached Braden’s shoulders and her dark curls were free and soft around her face. Her eyes looked like saltwater and her sweater looked soft. Braden pointedly avoided noticing that it was obscenely low cut and chose to focus on the brilliant sparkle of wedding bands on her left hand.

“You’re both staring.” Braden snapped his mouth closed and brought his eyes up to the girl’s face. Her eyes were twinkling, like she was on the verge of laughter. Nicky stepped forward and extended the hand not rubbing his head to the girl.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know there would be anyone here. I’m—” she cut him off with a sweet smile and wrapped him in a warm hug.

“I know who you are, she called. You made better time than I thought you would.” Nicky hugged the girl back and Braden couldn’t help but smile at the surprise rolling off of him. Most people didn’t touch Nicky. His personality and the whole way he carried himself discouraged people getting too close to him without his permission. But the girl seemed completely oblivious to it, stretched up on her toes and smiling.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think you actually gave us your name,” Braden said politely as she let Nicky go.

“Oh! I think you might be right!” The girl laughed and shook her head. Her ears twitched just slightly and Braden followed her eyes to the top of the stairs. On cue, the door opened and sunlight splashed across their faces. When the door closed again, Evie was bouncing down the stairs toward them.

“Nicky, Braden. I see you’ve met my wife Abbigail.” Evie was smiling broadly when she hit the last step and stopped beside the girl to kiss her cheek. She looked different than every other time Braden had ever seen her and it wasn’t until she gathered Nicky in a hug that he realized she was at least half a foot too tall.

“Okay so, the good news is that you aren’t going to be arrested or blindsided by reporters. Bad news, I’m legitimately not sure what happened to cause this mess in the first place.” Evie motioned to the island in the kitchen and went about making tea. Abby hopped gracefully up onto the counter so she wouldn’t be in the way and the boys each claimed a stool.

“Okay, stop and go back. Your wife? Why are you almost six feet tall?” Abbigail, to her credit, managed to avoid outright laughing at the complete befuddlement in Braden’s voice. Nicky shook his head in Braden’s general direction, but didn’t laugh.

“Yes, my wife. And, I’m always this tall. Do you want a drink?” She was looking at Braden without malice or offense, the question hanging harmlessly in the air between them. Braden exhaled and pushed one hand through his hair, not understanding.

“The strongest thing you have would be great. What do you mean you’re always that tall? Last time I saw you, you were like… five foot one, at best and you had a tattoo that covered half your body.” Nicky chuckled like he was in on a joke Braden hadn’t heard and shook his head _._ Evie turned back toward the fridge to retrieve four glass bottles of bluish-purple liquid.

 _She can manipulate her physical appearance with her magic. Hair color, eye color, height, weight, everything._ Braden struggled to wrap his mind around the idea of it, but let it go.

“Elderberry Wine,” Evie said as she handed the bottles out. She opened Abbigail’s for her, handed it over, and settled between the girl’s thighs with her back against the counter before she took a drink. “It’s good, and it’ll be out of your system before you have to play tonight so you’re safe.” Nicky smiled into his drink as Braden sniffed at his suspiciously.

 _She’s not trying to poison you, you freak, just drink it._ Braden glared and took an over exaggerated drink. The wine was cold, but it spread warmth all the way down his throat and across his chest.

“I didn’t know you were gay.” Nicky choked on his drink and sputtered, looking at him like he had lost his entire mind. Braden half expected Evie to be mad, but she wasn’t. She looked amused as she settled back against Abbigail and laced their fingers together. Their rings sparkled brightly.

“I’m not gay, just not straight either.” Braden took another drink and exhaled. For a long moment they sat in a comfortable silence. Braden broke it when he finished his wine.

“I can play tonight, right? No risk?” Abbigail leaned down to wrap her arms around Evie’s waist and nestled her head into her shoulder, wine bottle empty on the counter next to her hip.

“Minimal risk is more accurate. Until it’s clear where the accusations are coming from and whether there is any truth to them the danger will still be there.” Abby said it confidently, like she was commenting on the weather and not his life. He wasn’t sure how to feel about it, but he wasn’t a fan of her skepticism.

“There is no truth to it. None.” The women exchanged a look and then Evie stepped forward out of the confines of Abbigail’s thighs. The girl slid off the counter and came around the island to stand in front of Braden.

“Can you show me what happened?” Sitting down, Braden was closer to her height. When she approached him, she held up a hand and smiled, her blue eyes wide and warm in her pretty face.

“She’s not going to hurt you, I promise.” Evie came around to stand next to Nicky and leaned against the counter at his side. Braden looked from her to Nicky and back.

“Nicky?” He nodded and finished off his drink.

“If whatever she’s going to do can help fix this, what does it hurt?” He wasn’t wrong, Braden knew that, but he still wasn’t sure what to make of the girl’s hand, still outstretched toward him. He eyed it for a second and then nodded and let her touch the side of his face.

“Remember. That’s all you have to do. I’ll move us through the memories once you get us there. If I go somewhere you don’t want me, tap the back of my hand and I’ll stop. Okay?” Braden nodded and forced himself to breath. Her eyes closed and Braden could feel her in his head. It wasn’t like it was with Nicky and the others, where their voices took up permanent space in his skull. It was closer, like her whole self was in there, standing inside his skull with his memories on shelves around them. It was strangely intimate but not wholly unpleasant. He was, however, immensely grateful for the hum of alcohol in his blood.

 _Show me._ Her voice floated around the inside of his head and he forced himself to focus on every memory he had of Darlin’.

As quickly as it started, it was over. Abbigail pulled away from him and her soft hand fell away from his face. He opened his eyes and blinked. Abbigail’s pupils were blown wide and blacking out the blue of her eyes. She was flushed, breathing hard, and Braden couldn’t help but appreciate how attractive it was.

“What did you learn, love?” Evie came around from behind Braden and put a steadying hand on Abbigail’s back. Abby laughed and shook her head clear, looking at Braden with curiosity in her eyes.

“I learned that Nicky’s the most vanilla person in the room and that I should never let you two team up, ever. Ever,” Abbigail gestured between Evie and Braden and laughed.

“There’s nothing _vanilla_ about me.” Nicky sounded offended and Abbigail laughed.

“She knows that,” Evie kissed the side of Abbigail’s head and leaned back against the counter. “That’s why she’s so surprised. She wasn’t expecting him to be kinkier than you,” Nicky was tipsy. If he hadn’t been, he wouldn’t have been so okay with the conversation and he wouldn’t have laughed or clapped Braden on the shoulder. If Braden hadn’t been tipsy, he would have been embarrassed. Evie smiled fondly at them and rolled her eyes.

“He didn’t hurt her,” Abbigail’s voice was soft and sounded small in the wake of Nicky’s booming laugh. “But, I think I know why she’s saying he did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most people in the kink community use nicknames or screen names to help prevent their activities impacting their professional lives. Hence, Darlin'.


	15. Win the fight and dance with me.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evie jumps out a window and then puts (quite literally) the fear of G-d into the man threatening Braden. Also, there may be dancing.

“Show me?” Evie offered her hand to Abbigail, who turned to Braden and arched an eyebrow in question.

“Do you mind?” Braden leaned back on his stool and shrugged, making a face.

“Be my guest,” he said dramatically, sweeping his hand in front of his body and almost falling off of his stool. Instead of trying to balance, he got up and walked to the wall of windows to look out at the city. Abbigail took Evie’s hand and closed her eyes to share the memory. As soon as she finished it, Evie jerked her hand away and whirled in Braden’s direction.

“First of all, why the fuck are you going to events in the middle of the season? Second of all, how could you not think ‘oh, I stepped in when the guy she was playing with decided red wasn’t a color he cared about and almost got punched in the mouth’ was worth mentioning?” Braden hesitated as he turned toward the sound of Evie’s voice, one hand raised to indicate the skyline.

“That’s not Washington,” Evie made a frustrated noise and ran a hand through her hair, dragging her fingers through the snarls and forcing herself to breathe. Abbigail took a step forward and leaned forward to rest her head against the back of Evie’s neck.

“No, it’s not Washington, it’s New York City, Grammercy Park. Are you listening to me?” Evie all but tapped her foot for a second and then sent a sharp spike of magic through the air toward Braden. Just before the shining purple bolt could reach him, the air above his head chilled, turned to water, and broke over his shoulders, dousing him and bringing a comical expression to his face. From the door, Alex and Andre both roared with laughter, completely oblivious to anything other than Braden’s wet hair and ruined suit.

“Make sure they eat before they have to go back to the arena and don’t let them do anything uncharacteristically stupid,” Evie turned to press a quick kiss to the corner of Abbigail’s mouth, waved her hand to throw one of the windows open, and dove into the empty air without looking back. The laughter in the room stopped all at once.

“So mad she jump out window?” Abbigail smiled and waved her hand to close the window to keep the cool air out.

“She’ll be back when she’s calm. For now, I think it’s best I sober Braden up. Do you all know how much he weighs?”

 

 **I’m sorry you had to jump out a window because of me.** Braden’s text message came in while Evie was working her fingers through Abbigail’s curls, twisting the strands away from her face and into a French braid. Abbigail read it aloud and held up the phone so Evie could read it for herself.

“He wanted me to let him call you as soon as he was sober. He felt terrible,” Abbigail pulled her long legs up to her chest and held still so Evie could finish her hair.

“He’s an overall good kid. He’s odd and too observant for his own good, but he isn’t a bad guy. He could never hurt anyone without permission, not off the ice,” Evie twisted a hair tie around the end of the braid and tapped Abbigail’s shoulders. She immediately climbed up onto the couch and tangled her legs with Evie’s.

“I think he likes you,” Evie shrugged and Abby settled back into the couch cushions, playing with the delicate chains around her wrists. She handed Evie her phone and closed her eyes. “I think that’s why he was so thrown when you introduced me and so worried about you being mad at him, talk to him.”

 **I’m just trying to help you. You aren’t making it easy, but I shouldn’t have overreacted.** Evie turned sideways and tugged on Abbigail’s ankle until she opened her eyes and moved to rest her head where the temper stone hung around Evie’s neck. As soon as she settled, her eyes closed again and the tension melted out of her muscles.

 **Is what happened the reason she’s doing this?** Evie thought about it for a second and shook her head before she realized that Braden couldn’t see her.

 **She isn’t doing it on her own. The guy she was with… I think he put her up to it when he realized who you were. I’m handling it, you just have to trust me.** The three little dots that meant Braden was typing popped up and then disappeared. When they didn’t come back, Evie put her phone down and settled in, wrapping her legs around Abbigail’s and closing her eyes.

 _Hey, Evie?_ Braden’s voice was quiet, like he wasn’t sure she’d want to hear from him. She jumped slightly at the sound, but relaxed immediately and reached toward him.

 _If you’re going to apologize again, don’t. I promise, it’s okay._ Braden’s presence in her mind shifted anxiously and settled into an uneasy rhythm like he was pacing.

 _I just wanted to thank you._ Evie resisted the urge to open her eyes and reached out toward him until she could call up the image of his face and feel the way his heart was racing.

 _You should ask Nicky sometime, about how I treat my family. You don’t have to thank me. I’m always right here if you need me._ The anxiety buzzing under Braden’s skin flared and then died to a gentle simmer. In the corner of Evie’s mind Nicky’s presence flared as he pushed an image toward her. She smiled despite herself at how young they looked, sitting in the woods, naked and shining with sweat in the morning sun. The image was colored with love and comfort and Braden leaned into it, curious.

_She’s right, Holts. You shouldn’t apologize to family for having your back._

 

“Are you ready for this?” Braden shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers and stared at his feet, shifting back and forth. Evie reached out and touched the inside of his wrist until he let her have his hand. “You don’t have to be ready, you just have to trust me. Can you do that?” Braden nodded and looked over her shoulder into the restaurant.

“You know, even after all of this, I wouldn’t change what I did,” Evie smiled and squeezed his hand as she opened the door. He sighed and walked into the restaurant without argument. As the door closed behind them, Evie found Darlin’, sitting so that she could see the door and he couldn’t. She rose as they approached, extending a shaky hand to Evie and smiling thankfully in Braden’s direction.

“You should have told me we were meeting friends, Da—” Francis stopped mid-sentence when he saw Braden and drew his shoulders up square. He stood up and grabbed Darlin’s arm, ready to drag her out of the restaurant. Evie stopped him with an apparently gentle touch of her hand to his shoulder.

“I think you should let go of her and sit back down,” Francis’ pupils blew out and he hissed as the smell of singed flesh reached Braden’s nose. Obediently, the man sank back into the booth. Evie sat beside him, one hand flat on the table between them like a threat.

 _What did you do to him?_ Braden asked, sliding into the booth beside Darlin’. Evie flashed her eyes and a smile. She twitched her fingers and lit the candle in the window with a delicate white flame.

“Heavenly fire. Harmless to the innocent, relentless for the wicked. Right, Cardinal Francis?” Evie turned and offered the man a bright smile, her long hair falling around her shoulders and concealing her from the eyes of the other diners. Francis brought his fingers up and scratched at his beard, discreetly putting as much space as possible between his body and Evie’s.

“Here’s the thing Francis,” Evie reached out to touch Darlin’s ankle with her foot and soothe the shaking of her legs. “Braden is a friend of mine and you’re accusing him of something he didn’t do, something that could ruin his life, and all because she said no and you didn’t want to listen.”

“I haven’t accused anyone of anything, I don’t even know you two,” the defiance in his voice wavered when Evie twitched her fingers in his direction. She reached for her phone and scrolled through her pictures until she found the one of a girl suspended in a single futo made of dark blue hemp. In the background, behind the girl, were Braden, Darlin’, and Cardinal Francis. Darlin’ was in a heap on the ground, covered in a blanket and clinging to her teddy bear like it was the only thing holding her together. Braden and Francis were in front of her, clearly arguing. Evie reached out to rest a hand on Francis’ forearm, careful to keep the heavenly fire at bay so she didn’t sear his skin.

“You shouldn’t lie, it’s unbecoming. You’re not very good at it,” Evie set her phone down on the table and snagged a waitress with pretty green eyes to order food for Darlin’ and water for everyone else. As soon as the waitress was gone, she turned her attention back to the table, regarding each of them with large purple eyes.

“Here’s what we’re going to do, and make no mistake, I’m not asking,” the waitress came back and distributed the waters without saying anything, then excused herself quietly. “You’re going to apologize, first to her, and then to him. Then you’re going to willingly agree to a form of non-disclosure agreement and we’re all going to walk away from this happy. Deal?” Francis gulped and looked carefully from Darlin’ to Braden before settling his attention on Evie.

“And if I refuse?” Evie’s eyes sparkled and she leaned forward so they were only inches apart.

“If you refuse you’ll never have sex again and you’ll still be bound by the non-disclosure before I make it to the front door,” she smiled, “I’m not above forcing it on you, but I think it’ll work out better for everyone if you do it on your own.” To prove her point, Evie brought her hand to rest on the seat beside his thigh, sparking with energy. The waitress came back again and set a chicken salad down on the table in front of Darlin’ who picked up her fork and dug in enthusiastically.

 _Are you really going to castrate him?_ Nicky’s voice was soft and close, coming from across the restaurant where he was eating with Sasha and Andre. Evie smiled in his direction.

 _I won’t have to._ Sasha popped a cherry tomato into his mouth and laughed, just loud enough that the sound carried through the restaurant and tickled Evie’s ears.

 _But you would._ Braden shifted and picked up his napkin to wipe dressing off of Darlin’ cheek. His hands were gentle and he touched her like she was made of glass. Evie smiled despite herself.

 _It wouldn’t be the first time. There are a lot of men in the world who think they can take whatever they want and even more who think pretty things are just supposed to be pretty._ The tone of her voice turned cold and she twisted her wedding rings around her fingers

“Have you decided which it’s going to be?”

 

Somehow the entire pack ended up in Evie’s living room after the dust had settled. Most of them had no idea anything had happened at all, but everyone was willing to celebrate, even if they didn’t know what they were celebrating.

“Why your house feel so quiet?” Sasha was relatively steady when he walked up to Evie, even though he’d had more to drink than any of the others. Evie was standing on the stairs to the roof, looking out over the room with a glass of wine in her hand.

“It’s nothing but noise in here right now, Sasha, you’ll have to be more specific,” Sasha took a drink of his vodka and leaned onto the railing beside her.

“It’s like… Come in door and everything stop. Not smell anything, no sound from outside, no dust in the air, just… quiet,” Evie laughed and shook her head, sipping at her wine.

“It’s sensory safe, so clean that even our senses don’t have anything to pick up on. Abbigail does chores every week to make sure it stays that way,” below them, Abbigail was sitting with Nicky, her long legs stretched across his lap while they talked. Braden and Andre were standing by the windows, with beers in their hands, laughing and talking to the starfish shape that was Bobrovsky lying on the floor. The others had retreated to the roof with Elijah to play with sparklers and firecrackers.

“Chores? Why she do chores?” Evie smiled and pointed at Abbigail, laying on her back on the couch with her curls splayed around her head like a halo and her feet in Nicky’s lap. Her collar was sparkling at her neck, gold against the pale column of her throat.

“She’s like you, submissive, chores help her stay grounded. I could use magic but she’d rather do them by hand. You could too, if you like the quiet. She would teach you,” they fell silent for a minute and then there was music playing, filling the room and drowning out everything else. Evie broke into a smile and winked at Sasha.

“Watch this,” she said, handing him her glass and bouncing down the stairs. On an unspoken command, Abbigail pulled her legs out of Nicky’s lap and used the Bluetooth connection on her phone to turn on music. Evie swallowed down the last of her wine, set her glass down on the coffee table, and offered Nicky her hand.

 _What do you say, Mr._ _Bäckström? Care to help me show your pack that you really do know how to have a good time?_ Nicky smiled. It was small at first, but grew quickly until it was taking up his entire face. He took Evie’s hand and let her pull him to his feet.

And so, they danced. Evie was as graceful as Nicky and he matched her step for step until they were spinning around the room. Abbigail got up from the couch and crossed the room to offer her hand to Sasha.

“Dance with me, Alexander the Great. Until I can dance with her and you can dance with him,” Sasha opened his mouth to say he didn’t dance, but Abbigail arched an eyebrow and took his hand anyway. Sasha put his glass down on the step and let himself be pulled out into the middle of the living room floor.


End file.
